Ernie Barnes's Daughter Preserves Painter's Legacy Through Art Materials

(MENAFN- USA Art News) When artist Ernie Barnes passed away in 2009, his daughter Erin Barnes began the task of cataloging the extensive collection of art supplies her father had amassed over his decades-long career. The Los Angeles-based painter and former professional football player created dynamic scenes of Black life during the Jim Crow era, including church gatherings, football games, and nightlife. His notable work,“The Sugar Shack” (1976), established him as a beloved artist in Southern California.

Among the items Erin Barnes discovered were canvases, paint tubes, brushes, and various containers stored in the garage studio. For years, she kept the partially used tubes of Liquitex, Grumbacher, and Winsor & Newton acrylic paint without much thought. However, about a year ago, she recognized these materials as crucial to preserving his artistic legacy.

“I realized how much of the physical studio still existed through the paint tubes and brushes, and I felt a responsibility to preserve them as part of a record of his historical practice,” Barnes told Hyperallergic. She added,“These tubes are the physical remnants of his creative process.”

While prominent Black figurative painters such as Jacob Lawrence, Amy Sherald, and Kerry James Marshall have received widespread recognition from museums over the last decade, Barnes is not always mentioned alongside contemporary art stars, despite the $15.3 million sale of“The Sugar Shack” in 2022. The buyer, energy trader Bill Perkins, informed The New York Times that the painting is“for certain segments of America, more famous than the 'Mona Lisa.'”

This perception may soon change. A major documentary about Barnes's life, Who is Ernie Barnes, was announced in July. Additionally, the Canton Museum of Art in Ohio opened a special exhibition celebrating his work, Good Times: The Artistic Journey of Ernie Barnes, on August 18. Select works by Barnes are also slated for display at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is set to open to the public on September 22.

Barnes grew up in Durham, North Carolina, under Jim Crow segregation. He educated himself about art through books and catalogs because museums were inaccessible to Black individuals at the time. With his mother's encouragement, he sketched throughout his childhood and later attended North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University) on a football scholarship. Barnes excelled as an athlete in college and played five seasons in the NFL. He continued his artistic pursuits, often creating pencil or charcoal sketches of players from the sidelines during games.

Thaleen Barnes, Ernie Barnes's second wife, recounted to Hyperallergic that“his teammates were in awe of how he could come up with an idea and sketch it right away.” She further explained that he observed people's walks, mannerisms, and conversations, showing particular interest in their bodies, forms, and movements. She stated,“Just looking around the world that we lived in was an inspiration for him to sketch.”

Source: Hyperallergic

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