Ernie Barnes (American, 1938-2009). Work Sketch for "Solitaire!". Mixed media on Arches paper. 30 x 22-1/4 inches (76.2 ...

Description

Ernie Barnes (American, 1938-2009)
Work Sketch for "Solitaire!"
Mixed media on Arches paper
30 x 22-1/4 inches (76.2 x 56.5 cm) (sheet)
Signed lower right: Ernie Barnes
Titled center left: Work Sketch / for / Solitaire!

PROVENANCE:
Jo's Gallery, Detroit, Michigan;
Dr. Paul G. Mitchell, Detroit, Michigan, acquired from the above, circa 1985.

Dr. Paul G. Mitchell is a true renaissance man: a dedicated army veteran, distinguished physician, and supremely
dedicated patron of the arts, his collecting practices shaped by deep personal relationships with leading figures in
the African American art world.

A contemporary of Dr. Charles H. Wright, the founder of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American
History in Detroit, Dr. Mitchell worked alongside Wright at Hutzel Hospital and held a faculty position at Wayne
State University. His engagement with the arts was not incidental but integral to his intellectual and social circles,
notably, through his friendship with Walter O. Evans, one of the most significant collectors of African American art.
Today, the Evans Center for African American Studies at the Savannah College for Arts & Design is home to an
exceptional collection of works by, among others, Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Edward Mitchell Bannister.
Together, Drs. Mitchell and Evans cultivated their collections with a shared vision, acquiring works that would
come to define the canon of African American visual culture.

Dr. Mitchell's engagement with artists extended beyond collecting- along with Evans, Dr. Mitchell played a role
in the care and cultivation of Romare Bearden, who would go on to receive the 1987 National Medal of Arts,
among other accolades. Beyond Barnes and Bearden, Mitchell maintained friendships with other important artists
including Annie Lee and Brian R. Owens. These seminal relationships reinforced Dr. Mitchell's position within a
network of critical cultural stewards.

Just as Dr. Evans' collection has since been recognized as one of the most important private holdings of African
American art, so too must Mitchell's own collection must be understood within this broader legacy-one informed
by both aesthetic discernment and a commitment to African American historical preservation.

Mitchell's introduction to Ernie Barnes came through a direct encounter with the artist at an exhibition, where
Barnes articulated his belief that his sketches would evolve into a distinct artistic genre. Recognizing Barne's talent
and the stylistic potential inherent in the artist's now-iconic neo-mannerist figures, Dr. Mitchell incorporated
several early works into his collection, further aligning himself with the movement to preserve and celebrate
African American artistic achievement.

Barnes's work sketch for Solitaire! exemplifies the dynamic expressiveness that became a hallmark of his artistic
practice. The lone female figure, her musculature exaggerated in the neo-mannerist style for which Barnes is
celebrated, stretches toward an unseen window while a turntable spins silently at her feet. This sketch, though
informal in medium and inscription, demonstrates Barnes's signature concern with movement, solitude, and
sensuality. The use of soft pastels and graphite lines lends the composition a sense of immediacy and intimacy,
as though the viewer has been granted access to a moment both personal and performative. Barnes's attention to
the curvature of the figure's back and the exaggerated proportions of her calves and shoulders conveys a sense of
contained energy-a visual echo of the music implied by the nearby record player.

In contrast, the work sketch for Girlfriends explores the communal and conversational spaces often inhabited by
women in Barnes's oeuvre. Here, three figures gather closely, their bodies tilted in intimacy and shared experience.
The curvilinear flow of their dresses, drawn in richly layered crayon, recalls classical drapery, yet the informality
of the medium and the directness of the composition root the scene in lived, contemporary experience. Barnes
captures the subtle gestural language of female friendship-a hand resting on a back, a finger raised mid-story,
the suggestive silhouette of a wine glass-without lapsing into sentimentality. These women are poised, elegant,
and confident in their togetherness. The visual rhythm created by their turned backs and overlapping limbs
emphasizes both individuality and unity, a visual metaphor for the supportive ecosystems within African American
social life. That this work is simply marked "Sketch 1" suggests its foundational role in the development of a larger
composition, yet it possesses a completeness that speaks to Barnes's mastery of gesture and form, even in the
preliminary stages of creation.

We thank Luz Rodriguez of the Ernie Barnes Estate for her assistance cataloguing this work.




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