She served as San Miguel CountyвЂ™s first poet laureate (2007-2011) and as Western Slope Poet Laureate (2015-2017).

And if The Sugar Shack and its fellow BarnesвЂ™ pieces are any indication, the market will only continue to grow-a sign of more good times ahead, and a welcome, long overdue shift in the art world.Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer lives with her husband and two children in Placerville, Colorado, on the banks of the wild and undammed San Miguel River. The record-breaking sale of the Ernie Barnes painting The Sugar Shack placed the iconic painting in the spotlight, capitalizing on both its pop culture roots but also a desire by many to make the art world more inclusive and diverse placing underrepresented groups like women and artists of color firmly into the collective cultural consciousness and promoting widespread (and much-deserved) recognition. The Sugar Shack was purchased by hedge fund manager and poker player Bill Perkins, who was delighted with the special painting, saying on Instagram that it was вЂњa childhood dream come true.вЂќ The day after PerkinsвЂ™ purchase, the run on BarnesвЂ™ work continued at ChristieвЂ™s with yet another sale this time, the piece, entitled вЂњStorm DanceвЂќ, was purchased for $2.34 million, again rocketing past previous estimates of $100,000 to $150,000, a spokesperson for the auction house said.

However, there is, perhaps, an even more culturally significant reason for the paintingвЂ™s record-breaking sale at ChristieвЂ™s-an increasingly strong market for artists of color, which could signal, as Kaplan suggests, вЂњa real validationвЂќ for these often woefully underrepresented creators, a way to вЂњ light on incredible and undervalued artists.вЂќ For their part, ChristieвЂ™s acknowledged the upward trajectory and value of BarnesвЂ™ work, and the potential for widespread recognition due (in part) to its connection with the popular sitcom and iconic Motown superstar, вЂњItвЂ™s definitely safe to say that added to the cultural recognition and resonance of the image,вЂќ Kaplan said. But thatвЂ™s not all: the painting was also used as the cover of music legend Marvin GayeвЂ™s 14th studio album I Want You, released in 1976. Barnes himself also appeared in the show, and also has the distinction of painting all of the artwork that was used in the series. Many experts speculate that the high price tag garnered for The Sugar Shack could be due to a variety of factors, as Emily Kaplan, co-head of the 20th century evening sale at ChristieвЂ™s, said in a statement, вЂњ was really part of the cultural consciousness in a way that no other Ernie Barnes painting was.вЂќ She notes that this is perhaps due to a new recognition and appreciation for the paintings, recently featured in an exhibition at the California African American Museum.ДЄdditionally, the painting does have its own pop culture oeuvre, as it famously featured in the opening screenshots of the 1970s sitcom Good Times.

This is the first time that BarnesвЂ™ 1976 work has ever been on display at an evening sale, but not the first time one of his works has sold at ChristieвЂ™s for a price well above estimate-last November, Ballroom Soul, a similar piece, sold at ChristieвЂ™s for $550,000, at the time a record-breaker of its own. WarholвЂ™s famous painting recently sold for a record-breaking $195 million, but BarnesвЂ™ painting set a record of its own-selling at a staggering $15.2 million, approximately 76 times its high estimate, according to USA Today.

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