Shirley Woodson Reid, born 1936, is a visual artist based in Detroit. She earned her B.F.A. degree from Wayne State University in 1958 and her M.A. degree from the same university in 1966. While in residence at MacDowell, she met her husband, Edsel B. Reid. In 1970, Woodson Reid attended the Conference on the Functional Aspects of Black Art (CONFABA) at Northwestern University. She worked as an art education specialist in the Highland Park (Michigan) School District from 1966 to 1992. An art education professor at Wayne State University from 1996 to 2000, Reid started serving as art education supervisor for the Detroit Public Schools in 1992. She also served as director of the Pyramid Art Gallery from 1979 to 1980. Sought after as an art historian, Reid has been interviewed by the Detroit media many times since 1972 and has contributed to scores of newspaper and magazine articles. Since 1974, Reid has been a member of the national executive board of the National Conference of Artists and in 1997 she was elected president of the Michigan chapter. A board member of the Ellington White Project, Reid is also a member of the Detroit Art Teachers Association, College Art Association, National Art Education Association and the Michigan Art Education Association. Reid’s paintings of African American life are a part of 23 collections housed by the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Museum of the National Center for Afro American Artists (Boston), Detroit Edison, the Toledo Art Commission, Florida A&M University, and Seagrams. In January 2021, the Kresge Foundation named Woodson its 2021 Kresge Eminent Artist.
Shirley Woodson
Studios
Alexander
Shirley Woodson worked in the Alexander studio.
Originally designed to be a visual art gallery, this facility was built in memory of the late John White Alexander (1856-1915) and funded by Elizabeth Alexander and their son James. John White Alexander was highly regarded as a portrait painter and, in the early part of the 20th century, served…