Caroline Goe was a self-taught New York artist.[1]
Very little is known about Goe's life, but she sold her work on Avenue B in New York's East Village neighborhood.[2] Other sources say Goe sold her paintings on Third Ave and 9th St.[3] Goe is described as a blonde woman, quiet, wearing a wool coat and dress and carrying many bags.[4]
She made her paintings in oil paint on canvas, perhaps found in the trash of artists in her neighborhood.[2] Some works were on paper or silky fabric; they were not on stretchers. The works featured religious motifs. The style is brushy and very colorful.[5] She priced them cheaply at one or two dollars per piece.[6]
Art therapist Barry Cohen purchased her work.[2] Goe and Cohen arranged meetings by letter, as Goe had no phone. Her work was also bought by Lynne Tillman, Chris Martin and Robin Winters.
Goe disappeared in 1989.[2] [7]
An advertisement from 1990 for the Tartt Gallery in Washington, DC lists Goe as one of their artists.[8] White Columns features an exhibition of Goe's work from the collection of Lynne Tillman in March 2019. It is the first show of her work.