Harvard Art Museums > 2008.95: Runaways Prints Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Runaways (Glenn Ligon) , 2008.95,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Jul 11, 2025, https://hvrd.art/o/326292. This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2008.95 People Glenn Ligon, American (Bronx, NY born 1960) Title Runaways Classification Prints Work Type portfolio Date 1993 Culture American Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/326292 Physical Descriptions Technique Lithograph Dimensions each sheet: 40.5 x 30.4 cm (15 15/16 x 11 15/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: l.r. each sheet in pencil: Glenn Ligon '93 inscription: l.r. margin of each sheet in pencil: Glenn Ligon '93 inscription: l.l. margin of each sheet in pencil: PP 1/3 State, Edition, Standard Reference Number Edition PP 1/3 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Margaret Fisher Fund Copyright © Glenn Ligon Accession Year 2008 Object Number 2008.95 Division Modern and Contemporary Art Contact am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Portfolio of ten lithographs with paper folded cover. Commentary The work of Glenn Ligon draws upon the history of African American culture, from slavery through contemporary popular culture. The ten lithographs in the portfolio "Runaways" revise in format and narrative structure fugitive slave posters of the mid-nineteenth century. Each depicts a black figure above a text describing a run-away slave named Glenn. The artist asked friends to provide verbal accounts of him, as though reporting his disappearance to the police. The descriptions eerily replicate the language of the slave trade in America, thus pointing its legacy and reverberations in contemporary black life. Related Objects Object Number 2008.95.1 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away, Glenn. Medium height, 5'8", male... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.2 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away, Glenn, a black male, 5'8", very short hair cut... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.3 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away. Young Guy - the Oliver North of Downtown... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.4 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away, Glenn, 5'7" - 5'9", medium-small build, say 160 lbs... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.5 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away, Glenn. He is black... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.6 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away, a man named Glenn, five feet eight inches high, medium-brown skin... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.7 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran Away, a man named Glenn. He has almost no hair... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.8 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran away, Glenn, a young black man twenty-eight years old, about five feet six inches high... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.9 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran away, Glenn Ligon... Classification Prints Object Number 2008.95.10 Artist Glenn Ligon Title Ran away, Glenn, a black man - early 30's, very short cropped hair... Classification Prints Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
