Ernie barnes marvin gaye

The Sugar Shack by Ernie Barnes is a captivating artwork that captures the vibrant energy and rhythm of African American culture in the 20th century. His scenes are meant to be experienced in life, through song and dance, as the work is powerful and joyful, timeless and sensual.

Four of these iconic paintings, featured on records by Curtis Mayfield, B. King, The Crusaders, and of course Marvin Gaye, will all be on view together for the first time as part of this exhibition. The original version of The Sugar Shack gained fame as the cover art for Marvin Gaye’s album “I Want You” and the second painting, which is on view at Mint Museum Uptown, was later was featured in the end credits barnes the groundbreaking sitcom “Good Times.”.

Studying the many works that make up the estate of Ernie Barnes, music truly felt like a throughline in his life and art. Ernie Barnes connects with people across countries and generations and those whose lives he touched continue his legacy.

Over the course of Ernie Barnes created artwork for seven albums. Prior to this sale, Barnes’s auction record was for Ballroom Soul (), a large-scale painting that sold for $, at Christie’s in Barnes painted two versions of The Sugar Shack.

In the work of Ernie Barnes, music, dance, and community have always been celebrated, even in the humblest and unlikeliest of settings. Painted inBarnes, known for his dynamic style and portrayal of everyday life, brings to life a bustling scene of dancers, musicians, and onlookers in a lively juke joint.

The iconic albums he so beautifully illustrated have been an integral part of household collections for over 40 years. His scenes have always embraced dynamic movement, with dance and jazz as an urgent and intrinsic part of the human experience. “The Sugar Shack” is a segregation-era dance scene depicting men and women grooving to the sounds of a soulful singer backed by a four-piece band.

Barnes said many times that music and dance were always a huge part of his identity. The. Visitors to the Blanton can view The Sugar Shack, Ernie Barnes’s famous masterpiece featuring dancing figures in a crowded Black music hall in segregated mid-century North Carolina.

The bold colors, expressive brushwork, and sense of movement in The. A LIVELY DANCE SCENE by Ernie Barnes () was made famous on the marvin s sitcom “Good Times,” appeared on the ernie of a Marvin Gaye album, and brought a surprise multi-million dollar result at Christie’s a few years ago.

Ernie Barnes pioneered what it truly means to be a multihyphenate artist, reaching the world of music, sports, and entertainment, with work that transcends beyond the static canvas. The Sugar Shack became a Black cultural icon after the first version was featured on the cover of the Marvin Gaye album, I Want You.

The Sugar Shack is most gaye for its use as the cover to Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You, and also appeared in the credits of the Black American sitcom show Good Times (–79). Ernie has told the special story behind this painting, created after listening to the radio on a very rainy night in Atlanta.