W. B. Park: Doctors' Dollars

After years of our perusing cartoons together here, I hope we can agree that the most misguided New Yorker drawings of all are the ones that attempt to find humor at the expense of us beleaguered doctors. To be sure, the very worst of this genre of cartoon must be W. B. Park's ill-conceived 1998 slander against the profession, which I purchased on eBay in July, evidently by mistake, and certainly against any sound judgment, medical or otherwise.

Cartoons which try to get a cheap laugh from physician avarice such as, for example, Richard Taylor's wrongheaded "wrong bag" cartoon, the original of which I somehow also possess, should have no place in the magazine, and that goes especially for Park's thoughtless, amateurish, and pathetic attempt at humor at the expense of hard-working doctors fighting the good fight. I would assume that any self-respecting collector of New Yorker work would want nothing to do with an ill-conceived piece like this, yet somehow I of all people bought the original art for $160, an exorbitant price, but as low as the seller would go below the $205 ask. Surely I have better things to do with my money.

"Sure, we doctors make a lot of money. But, don't forget, we spend a heck of a lot, too."
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 31

W. B. Park's signature

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended July 11, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204866903789?_skw=Yorker+signed&itmmeta=01J9JCFPRVYHAG2X5V0HTH0WPN&hash=item2fb304deed:g:rpgAAOSwnRdmhJGY&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKm16TgobPTHtsXYxPAUtWjYc5FtDHJe7jQxVfaCHxiqimISGVhV4MhaNb%2BIwCojskz2eZ3y6QBuek

Arc3jaN4ut3H7CG9nsKpiCSj%2B45a3v5h0NijcxHTx9rB1vrVIw1SnTQ85NSbTRQ1zZdneUbdLhAlo8EunBQ5Y%2B3UDvk%2FEF5LbnsG0KwWXTEHhkN5hK7POvoYyFqIdlD0rsrBWkRSpi3%2Bv4R7IV7m6CxEp8mEeGmeSPy4QfHMq9BiekY4CVOn4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8LsvszMZA

W. B. Park
eBay item description

"Sure, we doctors make a lot of money. But, don't forget, we spend a heck of a lot, too."
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 31

"Sure, we doctors make a lot of money. But, don't forget, we spend a heck of a lot, too."
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 31

With cartoons by William Haefeli and W. B. Park

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1998-04-13/flipbook/030/

In contrast, The New Yorker portrays the aspiring business tycoon with relative sensitivity:

"Don't disturb Daddy. He's busy visualizing unparalleled success in the business world and, by extension, a better life for us all."
William Haefeli
The New Yorker, February 13, 1998, p. 30

04831