At 17 Kick started work in a print shop and completed school by attending evening classes. He lived with a friend’s family in Bloemendaal and drew political cartoons for De Notenkraker and Het Volk.
He began work at Philips in September 1929 in the 'Artistieke Propaganda’ department. He drew at least four covers for Phillips Bulletin and designed posters, advertising brochures and advertisements. At this time, he met his future wife Betty Huismans.
Around April 1932, Kick was fired for communist sympathies. He moved to Amsterdam and worked for De la Mar advertising agency. Following a holiday in Moscow, he decided communism was as dangerous as fascism. He married Betty and accepted a three year contract to work for De la Mar in Batavia. In December 1932, the couple left for the Dutch East Indies.
In Batavia, Kick illustrated covers for De la Mar’s magazine Meer Baet. He bought out the last year of his contract and traveled to Japan and China. Drawings from the trip were later published by Het Volk in Amsterdam.
Around 1935, Kick became a partner in an advertising agency that closed and then worked for Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad doing political drawings under the pseudonym Hofer. Two books were published with this work.
Following the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour, Kick enlisted. He drew propaganda for the Allies in Bandung and was imprisoned when the Japanese invaded. After the war in 1945, he was reunited with his wife and daughter in Ambarawa where they had also been interned. He drew images of life in the men’s and women’s camps and later of a Denpasar (Bali) peace conference.
In 1948, Kick moved to Sydney. He worked for Associated Newspapers as an illustrator for The Sun, providing illustrations for The Bulletin and World’s News. In 1955 he joined Australian Consolidated Press, also drawing for Chuckler’s Weekly. He drew for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Telegraph.
In the mid-1950s, Kick illustrated books for Angus and Robertson about the war in the Pacific, drawing on his experience.
He continued to illustrate advertisements and stories for the Australian Women’s Weekly. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1960 and progressively lost his ability to draw.
- Writers:
- Kerr, Joan
- Date written:
- 1996
- Last updated:
- 2019
