Lithograph on vélin paper. Paper Size: 19.5 x 25 inches. Excellent condition. Inscription: Hand signed and numbered, as issued. Notes: Published by London Arts, Inc., Detroit; printed by Z. Rather, Detroit, in an edition of CCC, 1979. ERNIE BARNES (1938–2009) was an American artist. Barnes grew up in Durham, North Carolina, during the Jim Crow era. His mother encouraged him to read art books and listen to classical music. He was inspired to paint The Sugar Shack as a teenager, after sneaking into the Durham Armory dance hall. Barnes became the captain of his high school football team, and in college he majored in art on an athletic scholarship. He played pro football into the mid-1960s, before devoting himself full time to painting, in Los Angeles. A world record price of $15.3 million for Barnes artwork was set at Christie's, New York on May 12, 2022.