Ernie Barnes (1938 - 2009), The Sugar Shack. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 121.9 cm.) Painted in 1976. Price realized: $15.2 million. © Christie's Images Ltd 2022.
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A masterful and dynamic painting from 1971 by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) titled High Aspirations will lead the American Art sale on November 7 in New York. Estimated at $500,000 – 700,000, this work captures a moment of uninterruptable grace for the subject on the basketball court with Barnes mirroring the verticality of the leaping figure with a strikingly vertical canvas.
WANN GALLERIES | AFRICAN AMERICAN ART | APRIL 6 Ernie Barnes Leads Sale with ‘Daddy’ EST. $250,000 to $350,000
Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) The Gospel Truth, 1985. Estimate: £600,000 - 1,000,000. Photo: Bonhams.
The Gospel Truth, a masterwork by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) leads Bonhams’ Post-War & Contemporary Art sale on Thursday 13 October in New Bond Street, London. The work has an estimate of £600,000-1,000,000.
Ralph Taylor, Bonhams Global Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, commented: “The gospel hall paintings of Ernie Barnes have become some of the most renowned and sought-after works by the artist, and The Gospel Truth is arguably the finest example to come onto the market. Barnes' life and career has received renewed recognition since his retrospective at the California African American Museum in 2019. We are particularly excited to offer The Gospel Truth given Bonhams’ recent successes in selling masterpieces by Barnes – having achieved an impressive $1,620,375 for his Solid Rock Congregation (1993) earlier this month at Bonhams New York. This follows on from the strong result for The Maestro – which featured on the album cover of The Crusader's Ghetto Blaster (1984) – and sold at Bonhams American Art sale for $882,375 in May.”
Barnes dedicated himself full-time to art following a career in professional football. He is known for elongated figures, capturing his observations of African American life growing up in North Carolina and living in Los Angeles. Barnes' work has appeared throughout pop culture on album covers, in television and movies. He was the official artist of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Purchased from the artist by Tim Hauser, eight-time Grammy winner and founder of The Manhattan Transfer, the present work conveys a musical passion shared between two masters of their craft. Hauser was introduced to Barnes’ work by the bassist Kenny Gradney of Little Feat, who also came up with the work’s title, The Gospel Truth. The painting was acquired fresh from Barnes' easel and would be a brightening focal point of Hauser’s collection. One of the most remarkable gospel canvases, it comes to the market for the first time since its making, full of unique details and qualities that make it one of the most inspired paintings by the artist.
Commenting on his relationship to sport and its impact on his practice, Barnes commented that "being an athlete helped me to formulate an analysis of movement, and movement is what I wanted to capture on canvas more than anything else.”
| | Ernie Barnes masterpiece to be offered at Bonhams New York on September 9 | | | Solid Rock Congregation (1993), by Ernie Barnes (estimate: $500,000-700,000). Photo: Bonhams.
| NEW YORK, NY.- A masterpiece by American artist Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) depicting a lively Sunday church service will hit the auction block this fall at Bonhams New York, following a summer tour to London and Los Angeles. A breakout star of the spring season, Barnes’ Solid Rock Congregation (1993) is another exemplary painting from his oeuvre depicting an energetic, multi-figure composition with strong emotional resonance. Barnes conveys the euphoric, rhythmic music deeply rooted in gospel churches of the American South, painting a Sunday morning church scene brimming with people singing, dancing, and playing instruments through his unique painting style capturing movement and passion. Estimated at $500,000 - 700,000, Solid Rock Congregation will be offered in a single lot live auction on September 9 in New York. The work has never been seen by the public before and has resided with American gospel singer Margaret Bell who commissioned the painting and is depicted in the work singing into the microphone. Ms. Bell was friends with Barnes after meeting him through the NFL that her then husband, Keith Byars, who like the artist played football in the NHL. After releasing a record with Warner Alliance Records in 1991, Ms. Bell recalls sitting in Barnes studio and him saying, “After hearing your voice Margaret, I can envision a wonderful piece, full of color, movement and music! If you commission me, I will create it for you!” Barnes dedicated himself full-time to art, after his professional football career, and became a leading 20th century artist. He is known for elongated figures, capturing his observations of African American life growing up in North Carolina and living in Los Angeles. Barnes’ work has appeared throughout pop culture on album covers, in television and movies, and he was the official artist of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Featured on the album cover of The Crusader’s Ghetto Blaster from 1984, Barnes’ painting The Maestro, was recently sold at Bonhams American Art sale for $882,375. “Following the success of The Maestro, Bonhams was pleased to learn about this unknown work that is clearly a masterpiece by the artist,” commented Andrew Huber, Senior Specialist and Head of Sale for Post-War & Contemporary Art at Bonhams New York, “and we are thrilled to show it to the public for the first time.” The work is currently on preview at Bonhams New Bond Street in London and will head to Bonhams Los Angeles on July 27, then reach its final stop at Bonhams New York starting September 1 and will be previewed alongside two contemporary art exhibitions from the Post-War & Contemporary department.
Ernie Barnes, LATE NIGHT DJ, 1980.PHOTO JEFF MCLANE/COURTESY UTA ARTIST SPACE AND THE ERNIE BARNES ESTATE
Ernie Barnes, Cool Quarterback, 1991.COURTESY THE ESTATE OF ERNIE BARNES, ANDREW KREPS GALLERY, AND ORTUZAR PROJECTS
Ernie Barnes, Uptown, Downtown, Acrylic, Overall: 30 x 20in. (76.2 x 50.8cm), Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Family Trust, Hollywood, California
Ernie Barnes, The Critic's Corner, Acrylic, Overall: 24 x 36in. (61 x 91.4cm); framed 41 x 29 x 3 in., Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Family Trust, Los Angeles, California
Ernie Barnes, Lift Every Voice, Acrylic on canvas, Overall: 40 x 30in. (101.6 x 76.2cm), Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Family Trust, Hollywood, California Ernie Barnes, Somewhere Else, Acrylic on canvas, Overall: 22 x 28in. (55.9 x 71.1cm), Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Family Trust, Hollywood, California
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