"An artist paints his own reality."
-Ernie Barnes
CAREER
Born during the Jim Crow era in Durham, North Carolina, Ernie Barnes gained much of his early art history knowledge from the library of his mother's employer, despite being barred entry to public museums. As a student, he gravitated towards the arts and found refuge in the pages of his sketchbook; his athletic career did not begin until high school. After playing football in college, Barnes would go on to join the Baltimore Colts, Titans of New York, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos and, lastly, the Canadian Football League. Through his football career, Barnes met New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin, who facilitated his artist debut in New York City; critics said that Barnes was "the most expressive painter of sports since George Bellows."
According to Werblin, Barnes had "more value to the country as an artist than as a football player" and ultimately retained the former athlete as a salaried player, but "positioned him in front of a canvas, rather than on the football field." In 1966, Barnes had his first solo exhibition at the Grand Central Art Galleries in NYC-- the work was critically acclaimed and all of the paintings sold. Although ambivilant about his time as a football player, Barnes said that he learned much about the body's movement and how to convey elogation and momentum.
Many of Ernie Barnes' paintings are framed with distressed wood-- as an homage to his father's struggles and sacrifices. After his father died, he took the untended planks of his home's white picket fence and used them for all future frames. The subjects in Barnes' paintings are traditionally depicted with their eyes closed, this represents the visually-based racism that Barnes, and others in his community, experienced every day. Ernie Barnes was the first American professional athlete to become a noted painter and his works are shown, collected and respected internationally.