The Barn is a groundbreaking sequence of twelve homoerotic drawings, the graphic narrative depicting a sexual encounter between a farmboy hitchhiker and a motorcyclist seeking shelter in a barn from the rain. The drawings are notable for their explicit detail and storytelling, capturing a moment of rural Americana infused with raw eroticism. Bate’s art often featured working-class men – farmboys, truckers and sailors – engaged in passionate encounters. His figures are characterised by their lean, elongated forms and expressive eyes, conveying physical desire and emotional depth.

Due to the obscenity laws of the time, The Barn was distributed underground. A photographer friend attempted to sell copies of in gay bars, but the prints were seized during a police raid. Despite this, bootleg reproductions circulated widely and internationally, contributing to the enduring legacy of the series. 

Today The Barn is recognised as a landmark in American homoerotic art, reflecting both the challenges and resilience of queer expression in the mid-twentieth century.