Bob Mankoff: If a Tree Falls in the Forest

An original cartoon by Bob Mankoff was sold at Wechsler's Tuesday alongside the gem by Michael Maslin we saw here in yesterday's post. 

"Dad, if a tree falls in the forest, and the media aren't there
to cover it, has the tree really fallen?"
Bob Mankoff
Original art

"Dad, if a tree falls in the forest, and the media aren't there
to cover it, has the tree really fallen?"
Bob Mankoff
Framed and glazed original art

Bob Mankoff's signature

The auction house states it is a drawing for The New Yorker. Maybe it is; that fussy use of the word media as a plural noun could certainly reflect the magazine's sensibility in, say, the era of editor William Shawn. Or not. But I wasn't able to locate the cartoon in the magazine's archives. Still, it could be hiding from me somewhere.

Bob Mankoff
Weschler's listing of May 20, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/robert-mankoff-american-b-1944-dad-if-a-tree-fall-155-c-71a44ffaa8?objectID=197168329&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=f0e8e4c305e81ae1e1cd38eff1073ec1

Bob Mankoff
Weschler's item description

Note:  I'd like to hear from anyone who may know where this was published, if indeed it was. Collectors owning original art by Bob Mankoff who would like to share it here on the old blog should contact me before offering it to any new media. Media, singular.

04948