The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 19, 2026

A vertically oriented black-and-white photograph depicts a man with light skin tone leaping mid-stride, facing our right. He wears a dark suit, white collar, and dark hat, clutching a briefcase. His legs are spread wide, suspended above the ground. Intense horizontal motion blur creates transparent, overlapping silhouettes trailing behind his body. The background consists of gray and white horizontal streaks that merge with him to suggest rapid speed.

Walking Man/Man in a Hurry

1962

Phillip Leonian

(American, 1927–2016)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 43.2 x 35.6 cm (17 x 14 in.)
Gift of the Leonian Charitable Trust 2024.110
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Phillip Leonian invented techniques and equipment that enabled him to capture the object in motion and the motion itself in a single still image.

Description

This image is not the result of multiple exposures but instead of leaving the shutter open and synchronizing the camera with the man’s movement so that his body remains centered on the sheet. His business attire and motion evoke the fast pace of modern life and suggests the rat race: the continuous struggle to get ahead financially or professionally that may just lead to running in place and getting nowhere.
  • {{cite web|title=Walking Man/Man in a Hurry|url=false|author=Phillip Leonian|year=1962|access-date=19 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.110