Red Hook Public Library invites you to a special Runaway Slave Portrait Gallery Reception at 5:30 PM on Friday, September 15th. Paintings are by Linden Avenue Middle School students, each an imagined portrait of a real runaway slave referenced in the book In Defiance: Runaways from Slavery in New York’s Hudson River Valley 1735-1831 by Susan Stessin-Cohn. The book is a compilation of “wanted notices” for runaway slaves from our area. Students also created hardcover books with fictionalized biographies to go with the portraits. The books combine known facts and imagined details to bring the person behind the wanted notice to life.  Some students will be reading from their work and available to answer questions regarding their experience with the project.

Paintings will be on display from September 11th through 22nd, with the reception held on the 15th. This event is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served. Call the library at 845-758-3241 for more information.