Ernie Barnes

One of the leading 20th century figure painters, Ernie Barnes’ work renders expressive, elongated figures in motion through richly painted, dynamic scenes that beautifully capture African American life. Born in Durham, North Carolina in 1938, Barnes’ work encapsulates everyday life for African Americans in the segregated south, often with an emphasis on community and comradery. Seeking refuge in his passions from bullying and bigotry throughout his childhood, Barnes would excel in his love of music and sports as well as his painting, pursuing a professional football career from 1959 to 1965 before eventually assuming the role of the league’s official sports artist. These athletic and musical influences permeate throughout his work in the stylized, dynamic scenes of Barne’s painterly world, his figures imbued with an exceptional physicality and movement that announces him as a premier figurative action painter of his generation.

Barnes’ paintings have appeared in numerous acclaimed exhibitions, including African-American Art: 20th Century Masterworks, II at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York in 1995, and Ernie Barnes: A Retrospective at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles in 2019. Barnes' work has also been heavily featured on music album covers, including his The Sugar Shack painting on Marvin Gaye’s 1976 I Want You, his Late Night DJ painting on Curtis Mayfield’s 1980 Something to Believe In, and his In Rapture painting on B.B. King’s 2000 Making Love is Good For You, to name a few.