Lensen, Wim G. - 1 Original drawing - 1950'

On December 1, 2010 the cultural heritage of Marten Toonder (all the work that Marten Toonder himself produced) was officially transferred by the heirs to the Letterkundig Museum Leiden and has since then thus been the property of the Dutch State. In November 2018 the archive of the Marten Toonder Studios was donated to the Literature Museum in The Hague and the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. See the last photo.

About the cartoonist Wim Lensen;
Wim G. Lensen (born October 8, 1914, died December 7, 1993) was the very first employee that Marten Toonder hired in 1941. He initially worked at the advertising agency Pätz on the Rokin in Amsterdam, and was hired in 1940 as an assistant to Marten Toonder. Lensen was Toonder's very first employee. He contributed drawings to the comic productions of Diana Editions, and soon after became the inker of the backgrounds of the 'Tom Poes' daily strip. In the second half of the 1940s he provided the pencil drawings for some stories of the new strip 'Panda'. In addition, Lensen illustrated the well-known postcard series 'Doremias Dias'. Another contribution by Lensen to the Toonder productions is the coloring of the weekly 'Tom Poes' strip for Revue. Between 1964 and 1974 he also colored the 'Puk en Poppedijn' strip by Piet Wijn for De Spiegel. Unfortunately, in 1971 most of Lensen's original work was lost in a fire at Nederhorst ten Berg Castle, where the studio was located. Lensen, one of the few artists on permanent staff at the Toonder Studios, never mentally recovered from this blow. He even spent some time in a psychiatric institution due to hallucinations. He did not return to the studio, and died in 1993.

For Tom Poes Weekblad he created some of his own strips, such as 'The Lords Jansen and Tilanus in the Land of the Troegels', the puzzle column of 'Professor Eureka'. The most important strip that Lensen created together with Marten Toonder at that time was 'Sim en Pans' which appeared from the very first issue in Tom Poes Weekblad. When the magazine was discontinued in 1951, he continued 'Sim en Pans' in Wereldkroniek. And also in Pum Pum, 'Sim en Pans' was for years a very popular strip.

Marten Toonder himself held Wim Lensen in high regard. When Wim Lensen died in 1993, Marten Toonder made that clear in a letter to the family. In it he showed his sympathy but at once also his enormous appreciation for the person Wim Lensen as well as a laudatory note about the artist Wim Lensen and the quality of his work. See photo 5. Photos 4, 5 and 6 are for information and are not included with this lot.

Kavel info;
This lot contains a stunning original drawing depicting 2 animal figures. The marvelous drawing is finely worked, superbly inked and ready for publication.

The drawing is still in wonderful condition. See also the photos which form part of the description and give a good impression of the quality of what is offered.

The drawing will be very well packed and sent by registered mail to the new owner.