Visual art
Shirley Woodson
born 1936 · painter, art educator
Detroit painter and teacher whose vivid figurative work on African American history spans six decades; named Kresge Eminent Artist in 2021.
- Born
Pulaski, Tennessee- Detroit years
- 1936–
- Field
- Visual art
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Woodson was born in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1936 and has lived in Detroit since she was three months old. In seventh grade she was chosen for special Saturday art classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which she attended through high school. She earned a bachelor's degree at Wayne State University in 1958 and later a master's there. In 1960 she showed her work in a Michigan artists exhibition at the DIA and began teaching in the Detroit Public Schools, beginning a long career in education that included serving as the district's supervisor of fine arts from 1992 to 2008. In 1974 she co-founded the Michigan chapter of the National Conference of Artists, a national organization for Black visual artists. Her bold, colorful figurative paintings drawing on African and African American history are held by the DIA, the Charles H. Wright Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2021 she was named Kresge Eminent Artist, and the DIA gave her a first solo show, Shield of the Nile.
Highlights
- Took Saturday art classes at the DIA from seventh grade
- BA from Wayne State University (1958)
- Supervisor of fine arts for Detroit Public Schools, 1992–2008
- Co-founded the Michigan chapter of the National Conference of Artists (1974)
- Kresge Eminent Artist (2021); DIA solo show Shield of the Nile (2021–2022)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1940s–1950s, 1960, 2021–2022
Detroit Institute of Arts (Friday Night Live!)
Where she took Saturday art classes as a girl, debuted in 1960 and had her first solo museum show in 2021–2022.
Studied here · 1950s
Wayne State University
Where she earned her bachelor's (1958) and master's degrees.
Related place · 2021
Detroit Artists Market
Hosted her 2021 exhibition Why Do I Delight, which also featured work by her protégés.