A 52-page exhibition catalog with an essay by Karen Patterson, from the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 2015
Lee Godie (1908–1994) was a self-taught Chicago artist who was often wary of sharing information about her personal life. She was born in Chicago, married at some point, and was a mother, but many details of her life are unconfirmed. For several years she lived on the streets of Chicago, without a home of her own.
Predominantly portraiture, her artwork depicts herself, others, and elements from the Chicago landscape. She was prolific, making thousands of multimedia artworks including photography, paint, ink, and graphite. In 1968, Godie brought a collection of her work to the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago to sell to visitors, staff, students, and faculty. Ray Yoshida (1930–2009), an Art Institute art professor and an artist, included Godie’s work in his home collection. Yoshida’s collection is on view at the Art Preserve. Between the late 1960s and ’90s, she sold her work in public spaces and was eventually included in a group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago) in 1979. Before her death, she had solo shows at the Carl Hammer Gallery and the Chicago Cultural Center.
