Quick Facts
Biography
Wilhelmina McAlpin Godfrey was an African American Artist that was very involved in her community. She was born on August 27, 1914 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though she was born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Buffalo, New York. She was married to William Godfrey Jr. and they had one child together, Carol Godfrey Wing. Wilhelmina Godfrey died on May 13, 1994.
Wilhelmina Godfrey went to Fosdick Masten Park High School. While she was there, she took all the art classes that the school offered. When the Great Depression hit, she had to put her education on hold. She was able to continue her education in the 1940s after she received scholarships from both the Art Institute of Buffalo and The Albright Art School. The paintings that she created during this time period were meant to describe life for those that lived on Buffalo’s east side. In 1951, she organized and taught drawing and painting classes at the YMCA on Michigan Ave in Buffalo. In 1958, after being inspired by an exhibit that she saw in Rochester, New York, she started weaving. Her weavings were abstract and often brought in elements of African Art. From 1952 to 1963 Godfrey worked for AM&A’s department store as an artist, but in 1963 she left to focus on her art. She organized the University at Buffalo's weaving program, and from 1967 to 1970, she was a teacher at their Creative Craft Center. She also taught and organized art classes at the Community Center for St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. In 1974, Wilhelmina Godfrey received a fellowship from National Endowment for the Arts and a scholarship from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. In 1979, she presented at the National African American Crafts Conference Symposium. Her presentation was titled The Negro Slave Crafts Workers of North and South Carolina. In 1990, received the Individual Artist Within the Community Award from the Buffalo and Erie County Arts Council. In this same year, she also had an exhibition at Medaille College. In 1994, the Burchfield Penney decided to include her piece City Playground in their permanent collection. On top of all of this, she participated in many other local organizations.
During her lifetime, she was commissioned to create artworks for both St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Besides City Playground, the Burchfield Penney Art Center also has three other pieces that Wilhelmina Godfrey created in their permanent collection including: Untitled (#22), Sint Maarten, and Face Fetish.