The War of Art (The Simpsons) Lisa's new pet guinea pig destroys the Simpsons' living room art, Marge falls in love with a beautiful painting at the Van Houtens' yard sale, which Homer purchases for $20. Marge removes the frame and finds that the painting bears the signature of Johan Oldenveldt, an artist of some renown. An art appraiser estimates that it could bring between $80,000 and $100,000 at auction. Marge wants to share the sale proceeds with the Van Houtens, but Homer disagrees, saying that the Simpsons should look after their own financial security first and keep the sale a secret from them. Milhouse eavesdrops
The Call of the Simpsons realistic with many observational details such as trees, rocks, fences and the way the cars were positioned. Burger King figurines were made out of the camping designs of the Simpsons family in this episode. In its original American broadcast on February 18, 1990, "The Call of the Simpsons" finished third place in the ratings for that day, with a Nielsen rating of 14.6 and a 22 percent audience share. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1990 in the category "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special". IGN.com named Albert Brooks' guest performance in this