Barney Tobey: Rural Renewal

In March, Hill Auction Gallery of Surnise, Florida, offered a piece by cartoonist Barney Tobey that was published in The New Yorker back in 1980. The original art shows us a small corner of our ever-changing world loosely but convincingly rendered in ink, wash, and correction fluid:

A ten-word caption pulls the whole thing together:

"Ed, remember my barn when it had cows in it?"
Barney Tobey
Framed original art
The New Yorker, July 21, 1980, p. 27

Barney Tobey's signature

Caption

The auction house gave this Tobey piece a broad valuation of $100 to $1,000. As a genuine, published New Yorker cartoon with something relevant to say, one could reasonably expect the art market to support this estimate but, alas, it did not:

Barney Tobey
Hill Auction Gallery listing ended March 26, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/barney-tobey-1906-1989-farmer-cartoon-illustration-361-c-fdf4814a36?objectID=195608596&algIndex=archive_prod&queryID=07bf770b690d11f324e9e30e123aa83f

The auction house describes the barn as having been "modernized into a living space," but it is more plausibly now a restaurant.

Barney Tobey
Hill Auction Gallery item description

"Ed, remember my barn when it had cows in it?"
Barney Tobey
The New Yorker, July 21, 1980, p. 27

"Ed, remember my barn when it had cows in it?"
Barney Tobey
Original art
The New Yorker, July 21, 1980, p. 27

With a spot drawing by P and a cartoon by Barney Tobey

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1980-07-21/flipbook/026/

* * *

A spot drawing by P

July 13, 2025 Update:  The drawing is now available from Curated Cartoons.

Barney Tobey
Curated Cartoons listing accessed July 13, 2025

https://www.curatedcartoons.com/products/remember-my-barn?_pos=1&_sid=c2018609d&_ss=r

Note:  This old blog still has enough room to post and comment on a barnful of original art by Barney Tobey. Farmers and collectors please take note.

Perhaps some knowledgable reader can inform a curious blogger of the identity of spot artist P?

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