Skip to main content
Washington University in St. Louis
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Create an account to add artworks to your personal collections.

Enter your email address below to recieve an email to reset your password.

An email has been sent to your inbox to reset your password.

image alt

Glenn Ligon

Untitled, from the portfolio Runaways

1993

image alt
1 / 1

Glenn Ligon’s work is often autobiographical, exploring how his own identity as a black man intersects with and is shaped by the sociopolitical circumstances and events of American culture, past and present. His print portfolio Runaways mimics the rhetoric and typography of nineteenth-century advertisements for runaway slaves in Southern newspapers, inserting various contemporary descriptions of himself in place of the runaway. The descriptions were drawn from ten of his friends, each of whom was asked to provide a verbal account of Ligon as though reporting his disappearance to the police. The texts that emerged from this process combine the casual language of physical appearance with the blunt reality of slavery. [Permanent collection label, 2017]

  • Artist Glenn Ligon (American, b. 1960)
  • Title Untitled, from the portfolio Runaways
  • Date 1993
  • Medium Lithograph
  • Edition description 30/45
  • Dimensions sheet | 16 x 12 in.
  • Part of Runaways
  • Credit line University purchase, Nathan Cummings Fund and Art Acquisition Fund, 1996
  • Object number WU 1996.01.06

Performance and Performativity in Contemporary Art
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 09/09/2011 - 01/09/2012

2/28/1996
Schmidt Contemporary Art

Inscription LR: “Glenn Ligon ‘93”

Ran away, Glenn, / a black man – early 30’s, very short / cropped hair, small oval wire-rimmed / glasses. Wearing large black linen shirt / with white buttons, dark navy shorts, / black socks and shoes. Black-and-white / bead bracelet and silver watch on left / wrist. No other jewelry. He has a sweet / voice, is quiet. Appears somewhat timid.

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

Related Content

go to Slavery and Its Legacies page
1992_22.tif
Theme

Slavery and Its Legacies

go to Performance and Performativity in Contemporary Art page
no image
Exhibitions

Performance and Performativity in Contemporary Art

September 09, 2011 - January 09, 2012

Image Reproduction Request Form

To request image materials and/or permission to reproduce a work of art from the Museum's collection, please complete and submit the form below. The information you provide here will enable us to process your request and assess the appropriate images, permissions, and any applicable fees. 

Typically, image requests that do not require new photography can be completed within three weeks. Whenever possible, rush orders may be accommodated, although additional fees may apply.

If you have questions, please contact Kristin Good, associate registrar, at kristin.good@wustl.edu.

Checking this box constitutes a legal signature. By checking this box, the applicant agrees to abide by all terms and conditions under which permission is granted to reproduce works of art in the collection of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, and that permission is contingent upon payment of any applicable fees.

* Required fields

test View details