We learned this morning the very sad news of the passing of Barkley Hendricks. We have lost one of the great American painters of this and the last century. Hendricks raised portraiture to a new level – changing contemporary art with his dashing life-size portraits. They were amazing accomplishments in both style and substance. Barkley created indelible images of the people he knew, paintings that were both tour-de-forces in technique and iconic representations of the 1970s. I was honored to get to know Barkley when bringing several of his paintings to auction.
Nigel Freeman
Director, African-American Fine Art
Swann Auction Galleries
Swann Galleries is proud to have handled many of his artworks, including Steve, 1976, and Tuff Tony, 1978, two important works from the artist’s “white on white” series. Hendricks’s late 1970s paintings are now widely recognized as pioneering accomplishments in American art and portraiture, and significant precursors to many themes found in contemporary art today.
Barkley L. Hendricks, Steve, oil, acrylic and Magna on canvas, 1976. Sold April 2, 2015 for $365,000, a tied record.
Barkley Hendricks, Tuff Tony, oil and acrylic on canvas, 1978.
Sold December 15, 2015 for $365,000, a tied record.
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