Original folk art by Ernest Lee — the one and only Chicken Man. Funky chickens, palmettos, Gamecocks, and faces you know. Every piece one of a kind, painted in Columbia since 1985.
Shop by subject
The artist
Ernest started drawing at five and never put it down. He came to Columbia not knowing a soul — four decades later you can’t drive down Gervais without knowing exactly who he is.
“I don’t paint from pictures. I paint from my heart.”
The chickens
The chickens came to him in 1999 — a year before the movie, he’ll tell you. He paints them funky and dancing, sometimes in tuxedos and wedding dresses. No two ever the same.
Shop the chickensFresh off the truck
Where to find me
Most days you’ll catch Ernest at his spot on Gervais Street, with the truck and that unmistakable rooftop rooster. Come say hey — cash, Zelle, and card all welcome.
The truck
Most days, 10a–dusk
As seen in
Exhibited at the SC State Museum, Richland Library, and the MLK Jr. Memorial Library, Washington D.C.
