• Skip navigation and go to content
  • Go to navigation

Norman Rockwell Museum

  • Visit
    • Hours & Admission
    • Directions
    • Exhibitions
  • Learn
    • Programs
    • School Programs
    • Curriculum Lab
  • Research
    • Norman Rockwell Collection
    • Archives and Library
    • Rockwell Center for Americal Visual Studies
    • IllustrationHistory.org
    • Frank Schoonover Collection Raisonné
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift
    • Become a Member
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Contact
    • Staff Directory
    • Norman Rockwell Museum e-newsletter sign-up
    • Careers
    • What's my Rockwell Worth?
      FAQ

Illustration History

  • History
  • Artists
  • Genres
  • Essays
  • Resources
  • Podcast
  • History
    • Time Periods
  • Artists
  • Genres
  • Essays
  • Resources
  • Podcast
Home > Artists > Ernie Barnes

Ernie Barnes

Born: July 15, 1938 | Died: April 27, 2009

Ernie Barnes

Biography

Born in Durham, North Carolina during the height of the Jim Crow era, Ernie Barnes was born to Ernest E. Barnes, Sr. and Fannie Mae Geer. Together, the family lived in a community known as “The Bottom.” Geer’s employer, a prominent Durham attorney and Board of Education member, encouraged Barnes to browse through his art books. From his suggestion, Barnes was able to become familiar with the works of masters like Italian sculptor and painter Michelangelo (1475-1564), Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), and French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) by the time he entered first grade. By junior high, he was able to analyze and appreciate numerous works found on museum walls.

During his childhood, Barnes was the victim of bullying. He would often seek refuge in his sketchbooks—drawing in areas on campus away from other students. A meeting with his masonry teacher and weightlifting coach, Tommy Tucker, helped fortify the self-discipline and dedication which would continue throughout his life, in art and in sports. By the time Barnes graduated from high school, he had twenty-six athletic scholarships. He then attended the North Carolina College at Durham on a full athletic scholarship where he majored in art.

Throughout his professional football career, Barnes would be signed with the Baltimore Colts, the Titans of New York, the San Diego Chargers, and the Denver Broncos. In 1959, the same year Barnes signed with the Baltimore Colts, he sold his first painting, Slow Dance, to the Celtics’ shooting guard, Sam Jones. However, the painting was later lost in a fire at Jones’ home.

During his time with the Chargers, Barnes met his teammate and lifelong friend, Jack Kemp. In the offseason, Barnes participated in numerous activities including working as a sports editor for The Voice, a local San Diego newspaper. In 1965, he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Canada. However, shortly after signing with the team, Barnes sustained an injury to his right foot, ending his football career. Following his final game, he went to a meeting in Houston in hopes of becoming the National Football League’s official artist. Sonny Werblin, owner of the New York Jets, was impressed by Barnes’ work and brought him to New York where he worked as a salaried player. Thus began his art career in the sports world.[1]

Although Barnes had been drawing and painting long before becoming a professional athlete, his work during and after his football career is what viewers have come to recognize. Barnes’ time playing in the NFL helped shape his iconic style of painting with figures who are often shown with lean, sinewy muscles that help accentuate their physical movements. Barnes’ work reflects both the pain and beauty of his experiences playing football, as well as the challenge of growing up as a black man in the south.[2]

Perhaps his most well known piece is The Sugar Shack, created in 1976. The image appeared on Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album I Want You, and in the closing credits of the popular 1970s sitcom, Good Times. The image depicts a lively scene from a Durham dance hall, filled with elongated figures swaying to the music. Barnes’ piece captures the rhythm and collective energy of a club packed with dancers and musicians as they move with the music in a euphoric state.

In 1984, Barnes became the official artist for the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, painting five themed images for the International Olympic Committee. Three years later, Barnes was commissioned by the Los Angeles Lakers to paint Fastbreak, a piece that featured players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, and Michael Cooper.

In 1990, Barnes was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by the North Carolina Central University, and in 2004 he was named “America’s Best Painter of Sports” by American Sport Art Museum & Archives.[3] At a 2022 auction, The Sugar Shack was sold for a little over $15 million, spurring renewed interest in his work.

 

Footnotes:

[1] “Biography: Ernie Barnes.” Ernie Barnes Official Website. Accessed July 7, 2022. https://erniebarnes.com/biography/.

[2] Little, Colony. “Ernie Barnes’s Iconic Chronicle of His Southern Roots and Sports.” Hyperallergic. July 4, 2019. Accessed July 7, 2022. https://hyperallergic.com/506752/ernie-barnes/.

[3] “Biography: Ernie Barnes.”

 

Photograph © Ernie Barnes Family Trust

Visit artist's website

Illustrations by Ernie Barnes

Trumpet SoloErnie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/trumpet-solo-2
The Sugar ShackErnie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/the-sugar-shack
Untitled (Trumpet Player)Ernie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/untitled-trumpet-player
FastbreakErnie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/fastbreak
Untitled [football]Ernie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/untitled-football
DancerErnie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/dancer
Storm DanceErnie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/storm-dance
My Miss AmericaErnie Barnes Family Trusthttps://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/my-miss-america

Additional Resources

Bibliography

Barnes, Ernie. From Pads to Palette: Ernie Barnes. Waco, TX: WRS Pub, 1995.

Barnes, Ernie, E. Bennett Lipkin, and Company of Art. Ernie Barnes: A Twentieth Century Genre Painter. West Hollywood, CA: Company of Art, 1971.

Tate, Don. Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2021.

Wallace, Sandra Neil. Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018.

Genres
  • Advertising
    • Corporate
    • Political and Public Service
    • Product
    • Self-Promotion
  • Books
    • Children’s Books
    • Cover Art
    • Interior Illustration
  • Cartooning
    • Advertising
    • Caricature
    • Political and Editorial
    • Sports
    • Spot
  • Comics
    • Comic Books
      • Manga
    • Comic Strips
  • Decorative & Applied Illustration
    • Info Graphics
    • Murals
    • Portraiture
  • Fantasy
    • Adventure
    • Fairy Tales and Fables
    • Mythology
  • Fashion
    • Advertising
    • Design
  • Graphic Novels
    • Fiction
    • Non-Fiction
    • Visual Memoir and Autobiography
  • Internet Illustration
    • Web Comics
    • Website Illustration
  • Magazine
    • Cover Art
    • Story Illustration
  • Moving Image
    • Animation
    • Concept Art
    • Storyboard
    • Video Game Design
  • Newspaper
  • Non-Commissioned Work
  • Poster
    • Event (Promotional)
    • Film
    • Political
    • Propaganda
    • Travel
  • Product Illustration
    • Album/CD
    • Calendars
    • DVD/VHS/Videogame
    • Greeting Cards
    • Packaging
    • Paper Dolls
    • Postage Stamps
  • Pulp Illustration
    • Pinup Art
    • Pulp Magazines
  • Science Fiction
    • Creatures
    • Outer Space
    • Technology
  • Technical
    • Anatomy
    • Archaeological
    • Architecture
    • Courtroom Drawings
    • Horticulture
    • Mechanical
    • Natural History
Global Perspectives
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia
RELATED ARTISTS
  • John Atherton John Atherton
  • E. Simms Campbell E. Simms Campbell
  • R. Gregory Christie R. Gregory Christie
  • Ernest Crichlow Ernest Crichlow
  • Robert M. Cunningham Robert M. Cunningham
  • Aaron Douglas Aaron Douglas
  • Emory Douglas Emory Douglas
  • Tom Feelings Tom Feelings
  • Rudy Gutierrez Rudy Gutierrez
  • Chris Hopkins Chris Hopkins
  • Jacob Lawrence Jacob Lawrence
  • Charles Lilly Charles Lilly
  • Pierre Mion Pierre Mion
  • Archibald Motley, Jr. Archibald Motley, Jr.
  • Kadir Nelson Kadir Nelson
  • Brian Pinkney Brian Pinkney
  • Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney
  • James Ransome James Ransome
  • Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold
Related Time Periods
  • The Decade 1960-1970 The Decade 1960-1970
  • The Decade 1970-1980 The Decade 1970-1980
  • The Decade 1980-1990 The Decade 1980-1990
  • The Decade 1990-2000 The Decade 1990-2000
  • The Decade 2000-2010 The Decade 2000-2010

Support the Project

We need your help to keep this project alive and growing. How can you help?

Submit Work
Make A Donation
About The Project

Stay Informed

Join our mailing list to receive updates about this growing project.

Art Works. National Endowment for the Arts. arts.gov

This project is supported in part by an award
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The great band of illustrators have shown us to ourselves and I am proud to be among their company."
- Norman Rockwell

©Copyright 2020 Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Route 183, Stockbridge, MA 01262 | 413.298.4100
Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions |
Equity & Justice Commitment