Ernie Barnes, Two Shots
Ernest “Ernie” Eugene Barnes, Jr., grew up in “The Bottom,” a neighborhood near the Hayti District of Durham, North Carolina. As a child, his interest in drawing was fueled by his mother’s employer, a prominent lawyer who encouraged him to pursue his extensive library of art books. While attending Durham’s segregated Hillside High School, Barnes honed his athletic skills. He began weightlifting and learned discipline, becoming captain of the football team, and state champion in the shot put. He won an athletic scholarship to North Carolina Central University, where he majored in art, excelled at football, and ran track.
Barnes was drafted into the National Football League in 1960, and he played five seasons before retiring due to injuries. Turning to his other calling, Barnes held his first solo art exhibition at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York in 1966. Inspired by Italian Mannerism, a 16th-century movement in which figures were depicted with exaggerated features, Barnes depicted lithe, athletic figures and his unvarnished scenes of Black life and Black joy, for which he is internationally known.
Two Shots is a unique pool hall painting that makes numerous references to Durham in posters on the wall. Barnes highlights his alma mater, other area high schools, football and boxing matches, WSRC radio station and several local businesses. Many friends and musicians are also immortalized, including his youngest daughter, Paige.
