Bowdoin College Homepage
Bowdoin College Museum of Art Logo and Wordmark

Advanced Search
Preview image of work. lithographs on paper,  Runaways 13551

2003.21.1.-.10

Recommend keywords

Help us make our collections more accessible by providing keywords to describe this artwork. The BCMA uses the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus to provide consistent keywords. Enter a keyword in the field below and you will be prompted with a list of possible matching AAT preferred terms.

 
 

Runaways

Export record as: Plain text | JSON | CDWA-Lite | VRA Core 4

Artist

Glenn Ligon (Bronx, New York, 1960 - )

Title

Runaways

Creation Date

1993

Century

late 20th century

Dimensions

16 in. x 12 in. (40.64 cm x 30.48 cm)

Object Type

prints

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

lithographs on paper

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2003.21.1.-.10

Composed of a block of text using different typefaces and a stock drawing of a stereotypical black figure, each lithograph mimics nineteenth-century ads that slave owners posted or placed in publications in their quest to identify and locate their runaway slaves. Each text begins with the phrase “Ran away,” followed by a description of the artist solicited from different friends. For an African American, reading one after another stimulates a journey—a private and curious series of thoughts. Were any of my ancestors the subjects of such ads? How would I have been described if I were a run­away slave, someone’s property, not seen as a full person? From years of experience, I know that each time I encounter Runaways, the work will invariably move from outside of me to inside of me. More and more, I see the work’s title, Runaways, acquiring a layered irony, or expressing an unfortunate, ongoing truth. Alvin D. Hall, Class of 1974 Independent Author