Judith Godwin’s career was impacted by her affiliation with the New York School—an interdisciplinary movement of visual artists, writers, composers, musicians, dancers, and others who gathered in Lower Manhattan from the 1940s through the 1960s.

After moving from Virginia to New York in 1953, Godwin began a lifelong friendship with Martha Graham, one of the leading modern dancers and choreographers of the twentieth century. Graham’s innovative poses and distinctive use of costumes inspired Godwin, who stated, “I can see her gestures in everything I do.”