Endre Lukács

Endre (André) Lukács was born in Budapest, at the dawn of the twentieth century. He worked for a while as a commercial illustrator in Vienna before moving to Holland in the 1930s. In Amsterdam, he started out as an artist in an advertising agency. After this, he was employed by the Geïllustreerde Pers, who asked him to draw for the newly launched Donald Duck Weekly Magazine. He did this for 30 years, designing covers and creating stories. He was one of the first artists to introduce Dutch elements into Donald Duck, such as the characteristic step-gables, and once he even made a story featuring the Dutch soccer team. For the coloring, a time-consuming activity, he was often assisted by his daughter Chris.

Because of his skillfulness, he once got a personal letter from Walt Disney, who complimented him on being one of the best Disney artists. Of course, as a Disney employee, Lukács was never allowed to sign his work - everything was copyrighted by the Disney studios. His significance for the Dutch Donald Duck can be likened to that of Carl Barks in the States. Both men gave Donald Duck a face, and provided generations of children with vivid images of the Disney figures.

Apart from 'Donald Duck' stories, Lukács drew 'The Little Bad Wolf', and episodes of 'The Flintstones'. He also appeared in the magazine Ohee, where he drew stories scripted by Vandergucht. He was an illustrator for newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad and the Real Presse. Endre Lukacs lived in the North of Holland until his death in 2001.