In the Allied countries during World War II, the saying was V is for Victory. In Barney Tobey's wartime cartoon set in Nazi Germany, V is for Verboten.
Barney Tobey,Verboten, c. 1944 Original cartoon art
Barney Tobey,Verboten, c. 1944 Original cartoon art
In this World War II era cartoon, Barney Tobey eschews his usual delicate washes and opts instead for the contrast of pen and ink. In the drawing, Hitler responds with anger to Allied propaganda implausibly hanging in Nazi headquarters. His generals look on in bewilderment.
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #510 for February 22, 2016. The drawing is by David Borchart.
"My life coach says to stay grounded and keep dreaming!"
These alternative caption attempts never got off the ground:
"Gather ye rosebuds, people!" "I say hit the pavement hard and never stop dreaming." "What happened to your dreams, people?" "Let me tell you how I make a fortune while I sleep."
February 29, 2016 Update: The Finalists
March 14, 2016 Update: Winning Caption
Note: Last week Michael Crawford took us upstream to spawn. Naturally I quoted Gloria Steinem. See the unbearable outcome of Contest #509.
Rise and shine to see more of David Borchart's caption contest cartoons.
Barney Tobey remembers a popular 1911 song in this cartoon from some half-century later. The song title is a long one and the cartoonist almost gets it right.
"It wouldn't work out, Nina. Basically, I suppose, I want a girl just like the girl who married dear old Dad." Barney Tobey, Original cartoon art The New Yorker, December 24, 1960, page 34
March 12, 2016 Update: This cartoon was published in the New Yorker. I have updated the caption on the cartoon art to reflect this.
"It wouldn't work out, Nina. Basically, I suppose, I want a girl just like the girl who married dear old Dad." Barney Tobey,The New Yorker, December 24, 1960, page 34
"It wouldn't work out, Nina. Basically, I suppose, I want a girl just like the girl who married dear old Dad." Barney Tobey,The New Yorker, December 24, 1960, page 34
A 1957 New Yorker cartoon by Barney Tobey offers a bravura rendition of the inside of the Metropolitan Opera House, then located at 39th and Broadway. The old Met was built in 1883 and it closed in 1966 when the Metropolitan Opera moved uptown to the brand new Lincoln Center. From the stage setting it is clear we are in the final scene of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, specifically in Violetta's bedroom. Violetta is on her deathbed succumbing to tuberculosis. Of note here, the postwar years have ushered in a new antibiotic era, and Tobey's well-informed opera-goer shares with her husband a contemporary musing on the opera's tragic conclusion.
"Isn't it a pity they didn't have drugs like streptomycin in those days?" Barney Tobey,Original art, The New Yorker, March 23, 1957, page 29
The Old Met as it appeared on January 1, 1896. The opera house opened in 1883 and closed in 1966 when the Metropolitan Opera moved to its current home in Lincoln Center.
Note: Did Barney Tobey get the staging right? I would be delighted to see a photograph or even a set design showing Violetta's bedroom from the 1950's-era Metropolitan Opera production of La Traviata. Who can help out with this?
Tragedy on the high C's? See what happens when Attempted Bloggery goes to the opera.
Also see what happens when this blog sings the praises of Barney Tobey.
How about some more original New Yorker cartoon art? There's more of it here than on any other blog. And that's not just Wagnerian bombast.
Do you know when the blog post is over? Hint: The fat lady is singing.
During the Second World War, cartoonist Barney Tobey designed three color postcards for the American Theatre Wing Stage Door Canteen. The Stage Door Canteen provided star-studded entertainment, food, and dancing to servicemen in uniform and it was all free of charge.
Barney Tobey, American Theatre Wing Stage Door Canteen postcard
Any work of original New Yorker art by Barney Tobey shows his amazing facility with the gag cartoon genre. Here he has created a scene in Central Park with ten distinct figures, nine of whom have strong opinions as to the proper decorum for the park.
Barney Tobey,"I'll tell you who we are! We are the Friends of Central Park." Original art, The New Yorker, July 29, 1974, page 35
I protest, Madam, said my uncle Toby, I can see nothing whatever in your eye.
—Laurence Sterne
Tristram Shandy
Barney Tobey's 1933 depiction of Widow Wadman and Uncle Toby illustrates a famous scene of seduction from Laurence Sterne's comic masterpiece Tristram Shandy. It also recalls a 19th century painting of the same subject by Charles Robert Leslie in the Tate Gallery. Tobey's version is set in a parlor with a fireplace, which seems to ignore the setting of Uncle Toby's sentry box specified by Sterne.
Note: The William Doyle Gallery's photo of the Tobey illustration is uncharacteristically marred by reflected light. If the present owner would care to send in a better photo, I'm sure the general public would be appreciative, as would I. The world of arts and letters, I'm certain, would also be curious to know whether Barney Tobey tackled any other scenes from Tristram Shandy. If anyone can answer this, please give a shout. Barney Tobey's work is proudly featured in the archives of Attempted Bloggery. Chime in if you've got something more of his to share.
