Shirley Woodson is a colorist and her works have been acquired by the White House, the Toledo Art Commission, and Wayne State University, among others. Born in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1936, Shirley Woodson was raised in Detroit. Woodson began her study of art in elementary school, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958 from Wayne State University and did postgraduate work at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1960. She completed her Master of Arts degree in 1965 at Wayne State University.

Woodson's honors include the NCA Award for Artistic Excellence, 1977, the DIA Alain Locke Award, 1998, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Lillian Benbow Award and numerous awards and honors. She has been featured in over 20 Solo Exhibitions. She is the recipient of the Mac Dowell Colony Fellowship, 1966, Creative Artists Grant, Detroit Council or the Arts and the New Initiatives for the Arts Exhibition Grant among others.