Millions Saw His Paintings on TV. In the Art World, His Work Still Went Unnoticed. In his lifetime, Ernie Barnes was largely dismissed and ignored by the industry. He became an icon anyway.
Ernie Barnes’s ‘Sugar Shack’ Painting Brings Big Price at Auction An iconic image sells for $15.3 million at Christie’s to Bill Perkins, an energy trader, who says he’s been waiting his whole life to buy that work of art.