Bailey Doogan's body of work includes film, three-dimensional constructions and, primarily, painting and drawing. She received her BFA in 1963 from Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA and her MA in animated film from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1977. Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited in diverse solo and group venues including: The New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Alternative Museum, New York, NY; The Hillwood Museum, Long Island, NY; Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, California; The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, California; The Nelson Fine Arts Center, Arizona State University, Phoenix Art Museum, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Arizona; The San Antonio Museum, Texas; Speed Museum, Kentucky; Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ; and the J. Claramunt, Jayne H. Baum and ACA Galleries, New York, NY.

Her 1977 animated film, SCREW, A Technical Love Poem, has won numerous awards and been previewed in festivals nationally and internationally, including: The Cambridge Animation Festival, England; The International Festival of Women's Films, Denmark; The Venice Biennale, Italy; The Ann Arbor Film Festival, Michigan; The American Film Festival and Film Forum, New York, NY; and The Brooklyn Museum, New York; and Hirshorn Museum, Washington, D.C.

Articles and reviews of her work have appeared in major publications, including Ms., The Village Voice, and Harper's Magazine; and in art publications, including ArtNews, Art in America, New Art Examiner, Artspace, Art Journal, Visions, and The Women's Art Journal. Her own writing has been published in Art Journal, M/E/A/N/I/N/G, and The Utne Reader.

In 1969, Doogan joined the faculty of the University of Arizona in Tucson, initially teaching graphic design. In 1982, she became a professor of design, painting, and drawing. During her teaching career, Doogan lectured at over thirty American universities and art institutions, and she conducted workshops at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Colorado. She was the 1992 fall semester's visiting professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also served on the Board of Directors of the College Art Association from 1997-2001. She was a professor emerita of painting and drawing at the University of Arizona from her retirement in 1999 until her death in 2022.