This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/4/2017
Diminishing skills is an unwanted development that happens to each of us including outstanding athletes in the field of glory. Father Time catches up and then it’s up to the individual athlete to decide when he or she should hang up their cleats. That moment of realization is captured here in this beautiful oil-on-canvas original painting by the late Ernie Barnes. An outstanding athlete in his own day who played five seasons of professional football, Barnes too went through this scenario and can certainly relate to the subject matter.
The spot-on painting, which is appropriately entitled “The Athlete Realizes His Skills Are Gone,” depicts a seated athlete following an on-field battle who is coming to grips with his own mortality. Very dark and somber with plenty of black and shaded areas within, the painting measures 30” wide by 42” tall and has been framed to now measure 34.5” wide by 47” high. Barnes, who passed away in 2009, signed the bottom right corner of the painting in white paint. A stunning, poignant portrait of the athlete acknowledging his own limits that once hung inside the hallowed halls of the San Diego Hall of Champions.
Includes Letter of Provenance from the San Diego Hall of Champions. Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.