Lee Godie (born Jamot Emily Godee; September 1, 1908 – March 2, 1994 [1]) was an American self-taught artist who was active in Chicago during the late 1960s until around the early 1990s.

Driven by her zest for life, her tough constitution to survive and sell her art on the street, Lee Godie creatively, successfully, transcended the unpleasantness of “living on the street” driven by a remarkable will, with a passionate and uniquely personal vision.

Godie was a colorful and dynamic figure in the city’s cultural scene into the early 1990s, becoming arguably Chicago’s most collected artist. Associating her creative identity with the Art Institute, which boasts one of the world’s strongest collections of late nineteenth-century French art, Godie aimed to become a modern-day impressionist.

Jan 21, 2022 · The eccentric “bag lady,” as she was often called, was Lee Godie, one of the city’s most iconoclastic artists.

Browse artwork and art for sale by Lee Godie and discover content, biographical information and recently sold works.

Lee Godie, a much beloved figure to the art world of Chicago in the 1970s and 80s, basically lived on the streets, sleeping on benches and painting on the grass in the parks.

Mar 19, 2025 · They speak of Lee Godie—Jamot Emily Godee, born 1908, died 1994—in hushed tones, a blend of wonder, curiosity, and maybe a little confusion. She called herself a French Impressionist, though she learned art on her own. And at the age of 60, homeless, she took to the streets, reinventing herself.

Lee Godie, Three Self Portraits with Photo and Cameo, 1970s, pen and watercolor on canvas with mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum,Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment 1997.124.21. The latest news, articles, and resources sent to your inbox weekly.

Jan 29, 2015 · Lee Godie (Jabot Emily Godee) was born in 1908 and she lived most of her life in Chicago. After the failure of her two marriages and the death of two of her four children, she became an homeless on the streets of Chicago.

A Chicago native, Godie, at the age of 60 finding herself homeless on the streets of Chicago branded herself as a “French Impressionist” selling pen/ink drawings and paintings to collectors, art students and pedestrians on Michigan Avenue for over twenty years until her death in 1994.