Ernie Barnes was a professional football player and one of the foremost figurative artist of the late 20th century. On April 27, 2009, he died at Cedars Sinai Medical Hospital of undisclosed causes. He was 70.NBC Philadelphia: "Sugar Shack" Artist Ernie Barnes Dies (April 28, 2009)

Ernie Barnes is perhaps best known for the painting "Sugar Shack", used on a Marvin Gaye album cover and in the closing credits of the Good Times television show. Blocked by Jim Crow laws from attending Duke University or University of North Carolina, Barnes attended North Carolina College as an art major, on a football scholarship.Ernie Barnes: Biography of Ernie Barnes

Drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1959, Barnes spent five years playing for different NFL teams. In 1965, New York Jets owner Sonny Weblin paid his football salary for one season ($13,500) to let him focus on his art, and Barnes made his debut at a solo exhibition in Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City.Ernie Barnes: Biography of Ernie Barnes LA Daily News: Ernie Barnes, one-time football player and artist, dies (April 28, 2009)

Barnes was named "America's Best Painter of Sports" by the American Sports Art Museum and was appointed the official sports artist for the XXIII Olympics in Los Angeles.Ernie Barnes: Biography of Ernie Barnes

Barnes' final art work, called Liberating Humanity from Within, will be part of a traveling exhibition later in 2009.LA Daily News: Ernie Barnes, one-time football player and artist, dies (April 28, 2009)