ERNIE BARNES (1938–2009)

Ernie Barnes, the African-American artist whose drawings and paintings of athletes, dancers, and other figures in motion reflected his first career as a professional football player, died on Monday in Los Angeles, reports Bruce Weber for the New York Times. The cause was complications of a blood disorder, his personal assistant, Luz Rodriguez, said. Barnes was an offensive lineman in the old American Football League, playing four seasons in the 1960s for the New York Titans, the San Diego Chargers, and the Denver Broncos. Perhaps his most famous painting, Sugar Shack, 1971, is a jubilant dancing scene that appeared on the cover of Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You and was shown during the closing credits of the television situation comedy Good Times.