Art and designקופל גורבין

Kopel Gurwin

Kopel Gurwin was an Israeli wall hanging artist, painter and graphic artist, known for his felt wall hangings and Independence Day posters.

1923 to 1990Felt wall hangingsIndependence Day postersHerman Struck Prize in 1956

Born: 28 December 1923, Vilnius
Died: 18 April 1990, Beit Yanai
Occupation: painter, carpets designer, artist, illustrator
Education: Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

Kopel Gurwin was born in 1923 in Vilnius

Kopel Gurwin was born in 1923 in Vilna, Lithuania, to Mordechai, a shoemaker, and Malka, a housekeeper. He spoke Yiddish at home, studied Hebrew at a Tarbut school and was active in Hashomer Hatzair. As a teenager he worked in a suit workshop, where he first learned sewing.

During World War II his parents died of typhus in the Stutthof camp and his sister Chava was murdered. Kopel and his brother Moshe hid, fled to Riga and were later held in Stutthof until the war ended, taking part in a death march. In 1946 they reached Sweden for rehabilitation, where Kopel later led the local Halutz branch.

In 1950 he immigrated to Israel and worked as a surveyor. After army service he studied drawing and graphics at Bezalel in Jerusalem, and won several prizes, including the Herman Struck Prize in 1956. His posters won the Independence Day poster competition several times.

After his studies he moved to Tel Aviv and joined Shmuel Grundman's design studio, helping build Israeli exhibition pavilions in Europe. There he discovered the felt he used for most of his wall hangings. He died in 1990.

Milestones in Kopel Gurwin's life

1923
Born in Vilna.
1946
Arrived in Sweden for rehabilitation after the war.
1950
Immigrated to Israel with his brother Moshe.
1951
Enlisted in the Communication Corps as a military draftsman.
1956
Won the Herman Struck Prize for a drawing of Jerusalem.
1958
Won first prize for a poster for Tel Aviv's jubilee.
1964
First used felt on wooden panels at the Levant Fair.
1968
Won first prize for the poster for 20 years of independence.
1971
Won the Independence Day poster competition for the fourth time.
1990
Died.

Kopel Gurwin served in the military

In 1951 he enlisted in the Communication Corps and served as a military draftsman. There he won first prize for designing the cover of the corps bulletin.