Eleven years ago, Richard Harnett l was helping his brother move into a new house when he
stumbled across thousands of drawings jammed into garbage bags.
This week, the battle over those drawings—created by the late cartoonist Ben Wicks—moved
into an Ontario courtroom.
The story began when Mr. Harnett's brother bought a house from Vincent Wicks, the son of the
famous cartoonist. As Mr. Harnett lugged bags of trash that had been left in the garage to the curb
for pickup he noticed the drawings, which he set aside and thought nothing of until the summer of
2001, nearly a year after their creator had died.
Mr. Wicks, who died in September, 2000, of cancer at the age of 73, was famous for his comic
strip The Outcasts, which ran in nearly 200 North American newspapers. He was appointed to the
Order of Canada, as was his widow, Doreen, and wrote books on a variety of topics. He also
created a foundation to promote literacy that is run by Doreen and Vincent.
About August 2001, Mr. Harnett called Ms. Wicks, and told her he had the drawings. He
suggested selling some reprints of the pictures and splitting the proceeds.
Ms. Wicks says that she demanded the cartoons be returned to the family. She insisted Vincent
had inadvertently left them behind and he still owned them.
Mr. Harnett, a Toronto school teacher, refused, arguing that Vincent had clearly thrown the
drawings away and they were now Harnett family property.
Ms. Wicks sued and this week an Ontario judge ordered the case to proceed to trial. In a
statement of claim, she alleges Mr. Harnett has about 3,000 original drawings.
"This is very painful for us," Ms. Wicks said in an interview from her home in Toronto. "I was in
shock when [Mr. Harnett] called because we had just lost Ben. I said, 'So you have waited for my
husband to die before you make a phone call?' "
The disputed drawings date back to the early 1980s when Mr. Wicks worked with Vincent, who is
also a cartoonist, in an office in downtown Toronto. According to Ms. Wicks, the office was so
small they used Vincent's home in Keswick, Ont., as a storage facility.
In July 1992, Vincent moved to Vancouver and sold his Keswick place to David Harnett, Richard's
brother. Mr. Harnett said in court documents that he was helping David move in when he
discovered the drawings.
In 1996 and 1997, Ben Wicks donated nearly all his original cartoons and drawings to Torontoâ
€™s Ryerson University. Ms. Wicks said the family thought there was more material around but
they believed that Vincent had taken it to Vancouver.
In an affidavit filed in court, Vincent said he packed what he thought were all of the cartoons
when he moved to Vancouver. He acknowledged throwing away boxes of refuse while moving, but
said he never intended to throw away his father's drawings. He said he left boxes of cartoons at
the home for the movers to ship and he thought they had all been sent.
Ms. Wicks said she that while the prints are quite valuable, the money is not an issue. She simply
wants all Mr. Wicks material kept at Ryerson as a memorial.
stumbled across thousands of drawings jammed into garbage bags.
This week, the battle over those drawings—created by the late cartoonist Ben Wicks—moved
into an Ontario courtroom.
The story began when Mr. Harnett's brother bought a house from Vincent Wicks, the son of the
famous cartoonist. As Mr. Harnett lugged bags of trash that had been left in the garage to the curb
for pickup he noticed the drawings, which he set aside and thought nothing of until the summer of
2001, nearly a year after their creator had died.
Mr. Wicks, who died in September, 2000, of cancer at the age of 73, was famous for his comic
strip The Outcasts, which ran in nearly 200 North American newspapers. He was appointed to the
Order of Canada, as was his widow, Doreen, and wrote books on a variety of topics. He also
created a foundation to promote literacy that is run by Doreen and Vincent.
About August 2001, Mr. Harnett called Ms. Wicks, and told her he had the drawings. He
suggested selling some reprints of the pictures and splitting the proceeds.
Ms. Wicks says that she demanded the cartoons be returned to the family. She insisted Vincent
had inadvertently left them behind and he still owned them.
Mr. Harnett, a Toronto school teacher, refused, arguing that Vincent had clearly thrown the
drawings away and they were now Harnett family property.
Ms. Wicks sued and this week an Ontario judge ordered the case to proceed to trial. In a
statement of claim, she alleges Mr. Harnett has about 3,000 original drawings.
"This is very painful for us," Ms. Wicks said in an interview from her home in Toronto. "I was in
shock when [Mr. Harnett] called because we had just lost Ben. I said, 'So you have waited for my
husband to die before you make a phone call?' "
The disputed drawings date back to the early 1980s when Mr. Wicks worked with Vincent, who is
also a cartoonist, in an office in downtown Toronto. According to Ms. Wicks, the office was so
small they used Vincent's home in Keswick, Ont., as a storage facility.
In July 1992, Vincent moved to Vancouver and sold his Keswick place to David Harnett, Richard's
brother. Mr. Harnett said in court documents that he was helping David move in when he
discovered the drawings.
In 1996 and 1997, Ben Wicks donated nearly all his original cartoons and drawings to Torontoâ
€™s Ryerson University. Ms. Wicks said the family thought there was more material around but
they believed that Vincent had taken it to Vancouver.
In an affidavit filed in court, Vincent said he packed what he thought were all of the cartoons
when he moved to Vancouver. He acknowledged throwing away boxes of refuse while moving, but
said he never intended to throw away his father's drawings. He said he left boxes of cartoons at
the home for the movers to ship and he thought they had all been sent.
Ms. Wicks said she that while the prints are quite valuable, the money is not an issue. She simply
wants all Mr. Wicks material kept at Ryerson as a memorial.
| Cartoonist's drawings focus of court battle Ben Wicks works found in trash BY PAUL WALDIE May 3, 2003 - The Globe & Mail |
