Ted Godwin was born the 13th of August 1933, in Calgary, Alberta. He majored in painting and sculpture at the Alberta Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary (1951- 55). He then moved to Regina where he worked in TV and neon sign design while painting during the nights and weekends. While in Regina he attended numerous Emma Lake workshops (1959-60, 64-65) and was the coordinator of the 1965 workshop. He joined the Visual Arts faculty of the Regina School of Art in 1964 and became internationally known as one of the Regina Five painters.

Godwin has exhibited across Canada and the United States and is widely known for his oil paintings, in particular his "tartans", and more recently, his landscapes or "streamscapes". He became a Member Elect of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1974 and received the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977.