A man was attacked and had part of his ear bitten off while standing on a sidewalk near the Art Institute of Chicago Thursday morning, police said.

The 51-year-old was standing in the 100 block of South Michigan Avenue when another man asked him for a light for a cigarette, according to authorities.

When the victim told the man he didn’t have a light, the man punched him in the back of the head and bit part of his left ear off, police said, adding that the man then fled southbound on Michigan Avenue.

The 51-year-old was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

The suspect was described as a black man in his 50s, standing 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds. He had “salt and pepper hair” and was wearing a big brown coat, a brown shirt and brown pants, police said.

Area Central Detectives are investigating.