Keith Godard

Keith Godard (31 May 1938 – 4 May 2020) was a British-born graphic artist[1][2] and designer who practiced in New York City.[3][4] He was the principal artist at StudioWorks.[5]

Early life and education

Godard was born in London[6] during World War II.[7] His father was a heraldic engraver.[8] In 1951, his father took him to the Festival of Britain which exposed him to 1950s modern design by the work of FHK Henrion, Abram Games, James Gardiner and the architecture of the 'Dome of Discovery' and the 'Skylon'. He studied at and graduated from the London College of Printing and Graphic Art[9] in 1962[10] and continued his studies on a full scholarship from the London County Council for a MFA majoring in graphic design at Yale University School of Art and Architecture[9] in 1967.[7]

Professional career

His first employment was with George Him, a Polish designer and illustrator. He then worked for Town Magazine where he was responsible for typographic layouts. He briefly worked for The Weekend Telegraph Magazine from 1964–1965, before going to Graduate School at Yale University. After graduation, Godard worked at Fortune magazine[11] for six months.[7]

Godard, with Craig Hodgetts, Bob Mangurian and Lester Walker, formed Works design Group in 1968.[12][13] Their first design was the Creative Playthings store. Godard designed the graphics component.

From 1975 to 1985 he worked with new partners, Hans van Dijk and Stephanie Tevonian. During that tenure he designed in collaboration with Edwin Schlossberg the Macomber Farm outdoor exhibit, The Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Exhibition,[14] The US Custom House Pavilion, 'In the Picture' for the Jewish Museum, aspects of The P.T. Barnum Museum exhibits, Manhattan Children's Museum installation 'Children's Art from Armenia', and four traveling exhibits for United Nations Agencies.

In 1986 Godard established Studio Works[9] where he was the principal designer, specializing in exhibition design, wayfinding and public art. He designed and built the exhibition 'Steel, Stone and Backbone, Building NYC Subways 1900–1925' for the Brooklyn Transit Museum, and signage systems and banners for Lincoln Center and signage for Cornell University Performing Arts Center for architect James Stirling. He designed Memories of Twenty-Third Street, a mosaic mural for the MTA's Arts for Transit installed in 23rd Street subway station on the R line in 2003.[15][16][17]

From 2000 until 2009 he designed a series of die-cut architecture lecture posters for the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. In 2015 he designed scannable graphics for apps in print and mural forms.[7]

Exhibitions

  • 'Image of the Studio' group exhibition Cooper Union Art Gallery 2014
  • 'Unfolding Keith Godard' The 0-0-0-art-space Hangzhou P.R. China, 2011
  • Nanjing University School of Design P.R. China, 2012[18]
  • 'Le Pèrigord et New York en Images' Le Musée des Bastides, Monpazier, France, 2008
  • Les Musées des Belvès, France, 2009,[19] 2012
  • 'This Way That Way': a retrospective of work 1963-2003' Rosenwald-Wolff Gallery, Philadelphia, 2004
  • Cooper Union School of Art Gallery, 2005[20]
  • 'Images of an Era: The American Poster 1945-75' The Corcoran Gallery, Washington 1976
  • Collection of work in The Museum of Modern Art, Le Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris,
  • The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Smithsonian Institution, The Cooper Union[9]
  • National Archives in Washington DC

Publications including his work

  • This Way -- That Way Lars Muller Publishers ISBN 3-907078-63-2
  • Design Firms Open For Business Steve Heller /Lita Talarico ISBN 1581159307
  • All Men Are Brothers Published by Hesign, China 2006 ISBN 3-9810544-0-7
  • Signs and Spaces Publisher: Rockport Publishers, 1994
    • "Keith Godard" by Laetitia Costes, in graphé Bulletin de l’association pour la promotion de l’art typographique No 59, July 2014, pages 8 – 15

References

  1. ^ "Artists Design Markers for The Bronx's Culture Trail" Archived 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. DNA Info, By Eddie Small | November 24, 2014
  2. ^ "Les plans aériens de Keith Godard sur le Périgord". Sud Ouest Éco.
  3. ^ Collins, Glenn (14 August 2004). "Making Sense of New York from 86 Stories Up". New York Times.
  4. ^ "Marking the South Bronx’s culture: At Casita Maria, markers created for Culture Trail" Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. Brie Hunter - South Bronx Express. By Teodora Altomare on December 10, 2014
  5. ^ Daines, Daines. "space explorer". Baseline. No. 24.
  6. ^ Collins, Glenn (2004-08-14). "Making Sense of New York, From 86 Stories Up; Views From the Empire State Building, Mapped Out in Steel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  7. ^ a b c d TypeRoom. "Keith Godard in his own words - TypeRoom". www.typeroom.eu. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  8. ^ "Keith Godard Obituary (2020) - New York, NY - New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  9. ^ a b c d Lupton, Ellen (2020-05-20). "Keith Godard (1938–2020) | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". www.cooperhewitt.org. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  10. ^ "Keith Godard – Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) – 512 creative professionals from 46 countries". Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  11. ^ "Memories of Twenty-Third Street". MTA. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  12. ^ "Mystery Of Kennedy Wedding Ends Today". Gadsden Times - Jul 19, 1986
  13. ^ Frampton, Kenneth (January 1976). "Keith Godard of Works". Idea Magazines. No. 134.
  14. ^ "Keith Godard". Center for Book Arts. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  15. ^ "Artwork: Memories of Twenty-Third Street (Keith Godard)". NYX Subway Art Tour
  16. ^ "23rd Street Subway Station Art Pays Homage to Flatiron’s History as a Fashion Hub". Untapped Cities, Spencer Cohen.
  17. ^ "Free art crawl a tour of subway exhibits". New York Newsday. March 29, 2012
  18. ^ "Professor Keith Godard Works Exhibition Held in School of Design". Nanjing University of the Arts.
  19. ^ "NEWS & NOTES, JULY 2009: Keith Godard between New York and the Périgord" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. AGI Magazine.
  20. ^ "Elevating the field of graphic design". The Star-Ledger. p. 47. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
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