Norma Minkowitz

She attended Cooper Union.^[4] In 2003, she became fellow of the American Craft Council.^[5] In 2009, she received the Master of the Medium Award from the James Renwick Alliance.^[6]

Minkowitz's work is in the permanent collection of 35 museums,^[1] including the Denver Art Museum,^[7] the Metropolitan Museum of Art,^[8] the Minneapolis Institute of Art,^[9] and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.^[10] Her piece, Goodbye, My Friend, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.^[11][12]

Minkowitz began running seriously in her late forties, and competed in marathons in her fifties.^[1]

In 2023, she set the world record for women aged 85 through 89 (W85-89) 400 meter race, at 1:50.99^[1]. In 2024, she set the world record for the mile in the W85-89 category, completing the race in 9:46.65.^[13] Reflecting on her achievements, she said:

I’m not pessimistic, maybe I fear death. But I feel strong and healthy so it’s a weird combination. But there’s also hope in a lot of my work, like a burst of birds flying freely and things that have deep meaning, not laying down and dying but fighting for what you want. I think I fight for what I want in my running. I don’t know where this came from with my sedentary background, but I’ve always pushed myself to the limits.