An iconic painting celebrating Black culture is making its NC museum debut in Charlotte
For the first time, Durham native Ernie Barnes’ masterpiece “The Sugar Shack” is on display at a North Carolina museum — The Mint Museum Uptown in Charlotte.
The iconic painting depicts a lively night at a Black music hall in mid-century segregated North Carolina. The painting celebrating Black culture is on loan now through June 30, The Mint said Friday.
“The Sugar Shack” was most recently on loan at Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, from Houston collectors Lara and Bill Perkins, who acquired it for a record-smashing price over $15 million at an auction in 2022. Prior to Blanton, the painting was at Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
The Mint developed a relationship with the Houston couple in 2016 when the couple loaned the museum three paintings by artist John Biggers, Mint spokeswoman Michele Huggins said. Biggers, a Gastonia native, created works critical of social and economic inequities.
”This is such a great masterpiece, I think others should be able to come see it, take a look at it, ask questions,” said Bill Perkins, a hedge fun manager and poker player, in a 2022 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston YouTube video. “Why did he paint the figures this way ... what does it mean to be in the segregated South?”
About ‘The Sugar Shack’
“The Sugar Shack” was inspired by Barnes’ memory from his youth when he sneaked into the Durham Armory in 1952 to see Clyde McPhatter and the Dominoes.
Here’s what Barnes wrote about that fateful night, according to papers provided by his estate to the News & Observer for a 2018 story: “It was the first time I sneaked into a Rhythm and Blues concert and saw people moving on the dance floor with raw passion. My little Christian mind was shocked. What went through my mind was, ‘Oh my God, I’m among sinners ... If my mother knew I was here ...’ but I couldn’t move.
“Then after a while, the music had me moving,” he wrote. “What I observed was the no inhibition, no self-consciousness or rigidity, just fluid movement while the music punctuated every bump and grind. I stood among the dancing with my mouth dropped and nobody noticed me.”
In its announcement, The Mint said Barnes’ painting “vibrates with movement and emotion, as dancers and musicians lose themselves in the joy of the moment.”
The original version of “The Sugar Shack” gained additional fame as the cover art for Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album “I Want You.”
The painting also was featured during the closing credits of the sitcom “Good Times.” The show ran for six seasons on CBS, from 1974 to 1979 starring Jimmie Walker, John Amos, Esther Rolle and Janet Jackson.
“The painting became a cultural touchstone, representing the vibrancy and resilience of Black culture,” The Mint said.
In 2019, a reproduction of the famous painting was featured in a Barnes show at the N.C. Museum of History.
In addition to “The Sugar Shack,” the Mint has two other paintings by Barnes on loan from Lara and Bill Perkins, “New Shoes” and “Marble Shooter.”
About Ernie Barnes
Barnes was born in 1938 and majored in art at the all-Black North Carolina College at Durham, now North Carolina Central University.
He also played college football and went on to play for several NFL teams, including the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.
Known for his expressive paintings of elongated, muscular figures, Barnes captured movement, emotion and culture in his works, The Mint said.
Other career highlights:
▪ Barnes created five themed paintings for the International Olympic Committee for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
▪ He was commissioned by the Los Angeles Lakers to create “Fastbreak,” a tribute to players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis and Michael Cooper.
▪ He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by NCCU in 1990.
Barnes died in 2009 of myeloid leukemia in Los Angeles.
See ‘The Sugar Shack’
“The Sugar Shack” is included with general museum admission at The Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St. The painting is on display in the American Art galleries on Level 4.
Museum admission is free for members and ages 18 and younger, $15 for adults, $10 for ages 65 and older and college students with ID.
Admission is free from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays.
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This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 11:45 AM with the headline "An iconic painting celebrating Black culture is making its NC museum debut in Charlotte."