The War of Art (The Simpsons) on the conversation from Bart's treehouse and tells his parents. The Van Houtens publicly shame the Simpsons for their secrecy, prompting a town-wide division of opinion. As the auction begins, Dawn, a former lover of Kirk's, arrives and claims that he took the painting from her. The auction is suspended until its ownership can be established. Kirk tells Homer that he bought the painting on the island of Isla Verde, home to an artists' community. Homer and Lisa travel to the café at which Kirk made the purchase in order to corroborate Kirk's account and the legality of Homer's purchase.
The War of the Simpsons Blend said "The War of the Simpsons" felt "a bit flat", but "even in [its] lowest points, humor is easy to find." Jeremy Kleinman of DVD Talk said it was "another great episode, featuring first, a new level of Homer's debauchery after drinking way too much at a party the Simpsons host, Reverend Lovejoy's marital retreat, and an epic battle with a legendary fish named General Sherman. Each of these portions of the episode are filled with laughs, perhaps the funniest being Homer's distorted high-society recollection of the previous night's events in which he is hailed as charming and a