Bronx-born Glenn Ligon always wanted to be an artist. After he graduated from the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, in 1985, he paid the bills by proofreading for a law firm and used his spare time to paint. Looking to the expressionism of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Ligon worked in a dramatic New York School style. In the mid–90s, however, he began to introduce text into paintings that addressed political issues around race. At the Fitzwilliam, Ligon offers “interventions” on the museum’s permanent collection, placing his own art among works by Edgar Degas, Frank Auerbach, and Chinese copies of Wedgwood ceramics. —Elena Clavarino