Peter van Straaten

The recorded working language is Dutch. The field of work recorded is illustration, caricature and comic. Places of work recorded in the authority are Amsterdam. Work by Peter van Straaten is recorded in the collections of Stadsarchief Rotterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Eye Filmmuseum. Distinctions recorded are Van Looy Prize, Inktspot prize, De Gouden Ganzenveer and Stripschapprijs.

• Name — Peter van Straaten • Born — 25 March 1935 • Birthplace — Arnhem, Netherlands • Died — 8 December 2016 • Place of death — Amsterdam, Netherlands • Occupation — * Cartoonist • comics artist • Years Active — 1958–2016 • Known for — Vader & Zoon

Van Straaten was born in Arnhem in the Netherlands on 25 March 1935. His elder brother Gerard also became a well-known illustrator. Van Straaten studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and started his career on 26 July 1958 for the Dutch newspaper Het Parool, where he illustrated news reports. Later he also drew political cartoons. From 1968 to 1987 he published a daily comic strip, Vader & Zoon (Father and Son), which became a huge success and inspired a television series. Van Straaten is best known for his gag cartoons based on observational comedy. His series Dagelijks Leven (Daily Life) depicts people in amusing recognizable everyday situations. The series Doe ik 't goed? (Am I doing well?) centered on gags about people having sex and men usually having trouble satisfying their female partners. Between 1984 and 2000 he drew a weekly comic strip about a single woman called Agnes. His work was featured in comic books and a yearly calendar, Peter's Zeurkalender (Peter's Nagging Calendar, a pun on the word zeuren (to nag) and scheurkalender (a calendar where one can rip off one page a day to read a joke)). Van Straaten's cartoons have been published in Het Parool, Humo, Penthouse and Vrij Nederland.

In February 2012, Van Straaten announced that he was no longer drawing cartoons for Het Parool. Two years later, in July 2014, he also cancelled his weekly cartoon for Vrij Nederland. He announced his retirement on 2 August 2016 and died four months later on 8 December in Amsterdam, at the age of 81.