African American Art Exchange: Ernie Barnes Art

Ernie Barnes Art Collection

Ernie Barnes

Ernest “Ernie” Eugene Barnes, Jr. (July 15, 1938 – April 27, 2009) was an African-American painter and is well-known for his unique style of elongation and movement. He was also a former professional football player, actor and author.

Americans became familiar with the art of Ernie Barnes via the television show "Good Times," and his appointment as the Official Artist of the XXIII Olympiad at Los Angeles. But his work gained critical acclaim and collector strength through Manhattan's prestigious Grand Central Art Galleries.
Today, he continues to be one of the most collected artists in America. Ernie Barnes and his wife, Bernie, live in a quiet section of greater Los Angeles where he works in his home studio.Ernie Barnes was born July 15, 1938. Endowed with an innate sensitivity, he knew early in life that he wanted to become an artist. Initial impressions were fashioned in the rich soil of Durham, North Carolina, while his sensibilities were cultivated in a loving home by his parents, Ernest Sr. and Fannie (Geer) Barnes.

In addition to his parents, Barnes was preceded in death by his half-brother Benjamin B. Rogers, Jr. (1920–1970). His younger brother James (b. 1942) resides in Durham, North Carolina. Barnes has five children: Deidre (b. 1957) and Michael (b. 1961) with first wife Andrea Burnett (1957–1965); and Sean (b. 1965), Erin (b. 1969) and Paige (b. 1972) with second wife Janet Thaleen Norton (1965–1983). He was also married to Bernadine "Bernie" Gradney (1984 - to death).

Barnes died on April 27, 2009 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California from a rare blood disorder.^[43] He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Durham, North Carolina near the site of where his family home once stood, and at the beach in Carmel, California, one of his favorite cities.