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Ted Godwin was born August 13, 1933, in Calgary, Alberta. He is a product of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Art and a number of Emma Lake Artists' Workshops, where he met Barnett Newman. From 1955 to 1964 he worked as a commercial artist and neon designer. In 1962-63, he self-studied in Greece.

He rose to prominence in 1961 as the youngest of the Regina 5. Eventually he was known as the "Tartan Kid". The tartans sometimes focused on people with their titles pointing to a virtual subject, adding to the enigma of Godwin's image. From 1965 to 1985, he was a teacher of art and aesthetics at the U of R.

Upon his retirement Godwin changed his style, focusing on the river scapes of the Bow River, while capturing the majesty of the river with the fly fisherman. Jazz was influenced Ted, particularly the work of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, J.J. Johnson, and Sonny Rollins. Ted has received many awards, recognising his drawing, experimentation with orchid's, abstract, and naturalistic painting along with numerous publications.

Ted Godwin died on January 4, 2013, in Calgary, Alberta, after suffering a heart attack two months earlier. He was 79.