The bidders knew Ernie Barnes was and still is a cultural Icon. Before a Basquiat, there was Barnes.
@Get These Nets Who were the original owners of the Sugar Shack piece? Was it Ernie’s estate?
Ernie Barnes Art Exhibit
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The bidders knew Ernie Barnes was and still is a cultural Icon. Before a Basquiat, there was Barnes.
@Get These Nets Who were the original owners of the Sugar Shack piece? Was it Ernie’s estate?
get these nets
Veteran
LOT 29C | Ernie Shack | The Sugar Shack, Acrylic on canvas
Created in 1976
91.4 x 121.9 cm
Provenance:
Private collection, Los Angeles, acquired directly from the artist
Private collection, Los Angeles, 1986
Acquired from the above by the present owner
=========================
Think it changed hands twice before being sold this time.
The new owner is Bill Perkins, who is also African American, and coincidentally whose father also played in the NFL..
I wonder if his pops played with Ernie
get these nets
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‘The Secret’s Out’: Bill Perkins, Buyer of the Record-Smashing Ernie Barnes Painting at Christie’s, Tells Us About His Winning Evening
"I'm not gonna stop," Perkins' main competition told him in the auction room. But the amateur poker player walked away with his "treasure."
May 13, 2022
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“The secret’s out,” said Bill Perkins, the Houston-based entrepreneur and amateur poker player, who fought off intense competition from another bidder at Christie’s evening sale last night to win a masterpiece by the late African American painter Ernie Barnes, The Sugar Shack (1976), for $15.3 million. The work had been estimated at just $150,000 to $200,000, so the final price was roughly 75 times that.
“You know those scenes in Westerns, or Pirates of the Caribbean, where everybody is fighting and Johnny Depp just walks in and out with the treasure?” Perkins said. “That’s been me at every other auction.”
The collector has been buying online for the past few years, and owns numerous other works by Barnes, as well as examples by Charles White and John Biggers. He has been happily astounded at their relative affordability. “I’m walking away with the treasure while everybody is fighting over a Warhol or a Monet,” he added.
.
However, Perkins admits that last night, after having flown to New York from Houston solely to bid in person, he knew something was up when auctioneer Adrien Meyer announced that there were 22 telephone lines set up to compete. The Sugar Shack (1976) shows a group of Black dancers exuberantly enjoying a night at the Durham Armory, a famous dance hall in segregated North Carolina, in 1952. It was not only the cover image for Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album I Want You, it was also featured in the television show Good Times, as the credits rolled at the end of each episode.
“This image has been in my consciousness since I was a kid. I have an emotional connection to it,” Perkins says. He’s friends with artist Rick Lowe (currently featured in the Whitney Biennial) who has been advising and informing him about Barnes and other artists. “I never thought I could own this piece,” Perkins says. “As I got in a position where I could buy it, I thought, wouldn’t it be amazing if I could own this iconic piece of American history, a very important, significant work.”
Perkins said asking how the painting came on his radar is kind of like asking how someone knows about the Mona Lisa. “If I did a survey, and I put a picture of the Mona Lisa and a picture of The Sugar Shack side by side, in my group of African Americans, they’re going to remember The Sugar Shack more than anything else.”
He added that he can’t think of a similar scenario in which a work of art was featured on an album cover and then on a groundbreaking TV show—which he notes was one of the first ever to feature a Black family and introduce Americans to Ernie Barnes and his art.
When Meyer opened the bidding somewhere below the reserve price, Perkins, who was seated at the back of the auction room, yelled out $500,000—already more than double the high estimate. As the phone competition quickly dropped away, the contest came down to just two bidders, Perkins and another gentleman on a cellphone a few rows ahead of him.
The price kept climbing—to $1 million, then $2 million, and up and up. Perkins said it was almost “serendipitous” that the competing bidder was visible to him. Rumor has it that he is an art advisor for Gurr Johns and was bidding on behalf of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in California, which was founded by George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson. A representative for the museum did not respond to request for comment.
As the price approached $7 million, the man turned around to Perkins and said, “I’m not gonna stop.” Perkins fired back, “Well then I’m gonna make you pay”—and the audience erupted into laughter.
It was still game on. The work finally hammered to Perkins for $13 million, with a hearty round of applause.
Perkins spoke to Artnet News on Friday from the airport in New York on his way back to Houston. Part of the reason he made the trip was that he was nervous something could go wrong, such as a dropped phone line or other unforeseen glitch.
He has mixed feelings about the historic undervaluation of work by African American artists. “As a novice, I’m buying what I like. There is American art, and there’s Black art and Black artists, and its like this sub-category. I don’t know all the reasons, I think collectors before thought, ‘Well I’m going to support this,’ and there was this kind of charitable endeavor to it. When I came along, I’m thinking, ‘These are basically free.’ This is such an integral, foundational part of history. Black history is why America is an empire. These stories are important, but it’s as if people have been put it in this other category.”
On the other hand, he added, “it’s great—I don’t have to bid against Hong Kong, or Russian oligarchs or French billionaires. It’s this open secret. This thing right in front of your face that more than two-thirds of the art world is not paying attention to. So it’s been good and bad.”
After last night, there’s no denying the secret is out—but Perkins is thrilled nonetheless. In his view, “this is a $100 million painting and I’m buying it for $15 million.”
Of his collection, which also includes work by husband-and-wife duo Dabsmyla, Roy Lichtenstein, Angelbert Metoyer, and Augusto Torres, he says: “I get to enjoy them and transmit them to future generations at a low rent cost. I say ‘rent’ because when you buy stuff like this, you get to have it for a while, and then you die and it goes to somebody else.”
"I'm not gonna stop," Perkins' main competition told him in the auction room. But the amateur poker player walked away with his "treasure."
May 13, 2022
.
“The secret’s out,” said Bill Perkins, the Houston-based entrepreneur and amateur poker player, who fought off intense competition from another bidder at Christie’s evening sale last night to win a masterpiece by the late African American painter Ernie Barnes, The Sugar Shack (1976), for $15.3 million. The work had been estimated at just $150,000 to $200,000, so the final price was roughly 75 times that.
“You know those scenes in Westerns, or Pirates of the Caribbean, where everybody is fighting and Johnny Depp just walks in and out with the treasure?” Perkins said. “That’s been me at every other auction.”
The collector has been buying online for the past few years, and owns numerous other works by Barnes, as well as examples by Charles White and John Biggers. He has been happily astounded at their relative affordability. “I’m walking away with the treasure while everybody is fighting over a Warhol or a Monet,” he added.
.
However, Perkins admits that last night, after having flown to New York from Houston solely to bid in person, he knew something was up when auctioneer Adrien Meyer announced that there were 22 telephone lines set up to compete. The Sugar Shack (1976) shows a group of Black dancers exuberantly enjoying a night at the Durham Armory, a famous dance hall in segregated North Carolina, in 1952. It was not only the cover image for Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album I Want You, it was also featured in the television show Good Times, as the credits rolled at the end of each episode.
“This image has been in my consciousness since I was a kid. I have an emotional connection to it,” Perkins says. He’s friends with artist Rick Lowe (currently featured in the Whitney Biennial) who has been advising and informing him about Barnes and other artists. “I never thought I could own this piece,” Perkins says. “As I got in a position where I could buy it, I thought, wouldn’t it be amazing if I could own this iconic piece of American history, a very important, significant work.”
Perkins said asking how the painting came on his radar is kind of like asking how someone knows about the Mona Lisa. “If I did a survey, and I put a picture of the Mona Lisa and a picture of The Sugar Shack side by side, in my group of African Americans, they’re going to remember The Sugar Shack more than anything else.”
He added that he can’t think of a similar scenario in which a work of art was featured on an album cover and then on a groundbreaking TV show—which he notes was one of the first ever to feature a Black family and introduce Americans to Ernie Barnes and his art.
When Meyer opened the bidding somewhere below the reserve price, Perkins, who was seated at the back of the auction room, yelled out $500,000—already more than double the high estimate. As the phone competition quickly dropped away, the contest came down to just two bidders, Perkins and another gentleman on a cellphone a few rows ahead of him.
The price kept climbing—to $1 million, then $2 million, and up and up. Perkins said it was almost “serendipitous” that the competing bidder was visible to him. Rumor has it that he is an art advisor for Gurr Johns and was bidding on behalf of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in California, which was founded by George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson. A representative for the museum did not respond to request for comment.
As the price approached $7 million, the man turned around to Perkins and said, “I’m not gonna stop.” Perkins fired back, “Well then I’m gonna make you pay”—and the audience erupted into laughter.
It was still game on. The work finally hammered to Perkins for $13 million, with a hearty round of applause.
Perkins spoke to Artnet News on Friday from the airport in New York on his way back to Houston. Part of the reason he made the trip was that he was nervous something could go wrong, such as a dropped phone line or other unforeseen glitch.
He has mixed feelings about the historic undervaluation of work by African American artists. “As a novice, I’m buying what I like. There is American art, and there’s Black art and Black artists, and its like this sub-category. I don’t know all the reasons, I think collectors before thought, ‘Well I’m going to support this,’ and there was this kind of charitable endeavor to it. When I came along, I’m thinking, ‘These are basically free.’ This is such an integral, foundational part of history. Black history is why America is an empire. These stories are important, but it’s as if people have been put it in this other category.”
On the other hand, he added, “it’s great—I don’t have to bid against Hong Kong, or Russian oligarchs or French billionaires. It’s this open secret. This thing right in front of your face that more than two-thirds of the art world is not paying attention to. So it’s been good and bad.”
After last night, there’s no denying the secret is out—but Perkins is thrilled nonetheless. In his view, “this is a $100 million painting and I’m buying it for $15 million.”
Of his collection, which also includes work by husband-and-wife duo Dabsmyla, Roy Lichtenstein, Angelbert Metoyer, and Augusto Torres, he says: “I get to enjoy them and transmit them to future generations at a low rent cost. I say ‘rent’ because when you buy stuff like this, you get to have it for a while, and then you die and it goes to somebody else.”
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‘The Secret’s Out’: Bill Perkins, Buyer of the Record-Smashing Ernie Barnes Painting at Christie’s, Tells Us About His Winning Evening
“This image has been in my consciousness since I was a kid. I have an emotional connection to it,” Perkins says. He’s friends with artist Rick Lowe (currently featured in the Whitney Biennial) who has been advising and informing him about Barnes and other artists. “I never thought I could own this piece,” Perkins says. “As I got in a position where I could buy it, I thought, wouldn’t it be amazing if I could own this iconic piece of American history, a very important, significant work.”
Perkins said asking how the painting came on his radar is kind of like asking how someone knows about the Mona Lisa. “If I did a survey, and I put a picture of the Mona Lisa and a picture of The Sugar Shack side by side, in my group of African Americans, they’re going to remember The Sugar Shack more than anything else.”
He has mixed feelings about the historic undervaluation of work by African American artists. “As a novice, I’m buying what I like. There is American art, and there’s Black art and Black artists, and its like this sub-category. I don’t know all the reasons, I think collectors before thought, ‘Well I’m going to support this,’ and there was this kind of charitable endeavor to it. When I came along, I’m thinking, ‘These are basically free.’ This is such an integral, foundational part of history. Black history is why America is an empire. These stories are important, but it’s as if people have been put it in this other category.”
…. Felt these quotes in my spirit. Dope read. You should drop this article in the locker room too. It might inspire some of the artistic brehs to keep at it. There is a market out there for the artistic voice of our culture and of our generation.
This just makes me think on if Marvin ever got to see Ernie paint. Like did they hang out on some creative level.
Just overall good read. Thanks!
get these nets
Veteran
Thank you. Parallel thread is up in TLR about the recent auction.
Dope read. You should drop this article in the locker room too. It might inspire some of the artistic brehs to keep at it. There is a market out there for the artistic voice of our culture and of our generation.
This just makes me think on if Marvin ever got to see Ernie paint. Like did they hang out on some creative level.
Just overall good read. Thanks!
Very powerful words from Perkins, and behind that talk the bidding war and purchase will spark an interest in AA art and artists, among that set. He's ahead of the curve in seeing the value of those works.
I'd actually like to see a film about Ernie Barnes' life. Fascinating life story, and his connection to Marvin broadens that story.
. I agree with you about there existing untapped or undeveloped artistic talent among people. I think we all have skills and talents that we're not even aware of.
Shame that it goes uncultivated, or all routed in one direction.
* I generally post parallel threads about topics posted in The Root. Subforums are different, so the convos are different.
get these nets
Veteran
A 1993 Painting by Ernie Barnes Just Sold for $1.6 Million, Adding to the Late Artist’s Recent Market Explosion
The artwork, which depicts a lively church scene, soared past its presale high estimate of $700,000 at Bonhams New York.
September 9, 2022
Few, if any, artists’ markets have blown up in 2022 like that of the late Ernie Barnes—and a sale today only continued the streak.
During a dedicated single-lot auction at Bonhams New York, a 1993 canvas by Barnes sold for $1.6 million, more than tripling its low pre-sale estimate of $500,000.
The painting, Solid Rock Congregation, depicts a jubilant church scene in the American South. In the right of the composition is the gospel singer Margaret Bell, a friend of Barnes who commissioned the artwork and is shown belting into a microphone.
Previously unseen by the public, the painting revels in the kind of kineticism for which Barnes, a onetime NFL player who gave up the game to pursue an art career, is best known.
“This work by Barnes is truly special and it was an honor to be able to give it the moment it deserves,” said Andrew Huber, Bonhams New York’s director, in a statement. “We knew it was going to attract a lot of interest, but I’m truly blown away by the response.”
It’s not the first time that feverish demand inflated auction results for the artist’s work this year.
In May, Barne’s The Sugar Shack, a 1976 painting that graced the cover of Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You and was shown during the closing credits of the TV show Good Times, sold for an astonishing $15.3 million at Christie’s 20th century art evening sale, surpassing the pre-sale estimate 76 times over.
Bill Perkins, a Houston-based energy trader, emerged as the winner—then promptly extolled the importance of his new purchase: “For certain segments of America, it’s more famous than the Mona Lisa,” he told the New York Times after the sale.
Ernie Barnes, November 13, 1964. Photo: Phil Slattery/The Denver Post via Getty Images.
Other Barnes works that have sold this year include Storm Dance (1977), which fetched $2.3 million at Christie’s New York a day after the Sugar Shack sale in May; Listen Up (1980), which took home $963,000 at Christie’s Hong Kong that same month; and Main Street Pool Hall (1978), which went for $1.8 million at Christie’s London in June. (All figures were taken from the Artnet Price Database.)
Four months ago, Bonhams auctioned off Barnes’s canvas The Maestro (circa 1971), attaching to the artwork an estimate of $25,000 to $35,0000. It went for $80,000.
“Barnes’ career is a testament to a uniquely American spirit,” Huber added in an email to Artnet News. “It has been a privilege to be part of the story of this painting that captures the community and joy that makes Barnes one of the most admired figurative painters of his generation and the headline artist of the 2022 season.”