The children of the late cartoonist Ben Wicks went to court yesterday to try to reclaim 2,408 vintage
drawings left behind in a move.
Vincent Wicks, the cartoonist's son, moved from Keswick to Vancouver 15 years ago, leaving a bunch of
garbage bags including three full of Ben Wicks cartoons.
They were discovered by Richard Harnett, the new homeowner's brother. The two brothers kept the
work and, six years ago, Richard proposed they publish a book with the best material.
They saw themselves as owners of the physical drawings and viewed the Wicks estate as the copyright
holder. Wicks died of cancer in 2000 at age 73.
When they contacted the Wicks family for permission to publish, however, the family sued to recover the
cartoons, valued by an expert witness at $57,770.32 in 2005.
"My mother (Doreen Wicks) was distraught," Susan McLelland said, between sobs, of the family learning
that cartoons were and somebody else was proposing to profit from them. Doreen Wicks died in 2004.
"His work is a treasure to us," McLelland said at another point, speaking for the family. "His work is a
treasure to this country."
McLelland, one of Wicks's three children, testified at length about how proud the family was of her
father, a London Cockney, for rising out of childhood poverty to become a Member of the Order of
Canada.
He and Doreen arrived in Canada in 1957 with $25. He took jobs as a musician, milkman and window-
washer – anything to help make ends meet, McLelland said, finally breaking into cartooning with the U.
S. magazine The Saturday Evening Post.
Beginning in the 1960s, he became a syndicated cartoonist in Canada and the United States. For years he
produced two daily and two weekly comic strips, and wrote books in between. At one point he drew for
the Toronto Star and the Toronto Star Syndicate.
He also saved everything.
"File by pile," McClelland testified yesterday to describe her father's archival method. "He had a creative
mind and filing wasn't really in his thinking."
He saved original drawings of cartoons, unfinished drafts, newspaper and magazine clippings of his
work, paintings for animated films, audio tapes of radio broadcasts he gave, and videotapes of television
appearances.
When one box filled up, he would start another. When his house filled up, and his three children grew
up, he gave them boxes to store as well.
McClelland said when she moved into her first house in 1985, she and her husband extended a closet
across the entire length of the spare room for her father's boxes.
None of the boxes was numbered. Nobody knew how many existed, just that they were scattered around
various family homes.
Despite the lack of apparent organization, McClelland said, her father seemed to retain a sense of where
certain things were and would call sometimes to retrieve material as inspiration for new projects.
In 1992, Vincent Wicks sold his house in Keswick.
"At the time of the sale, I packed up what I thought were all the cartoons (in my possession) and moved
them with me," he says in a court affidavit.
He sold the house to David Harnett and his wife, Mary Rixon. On moving day, Harnett's brother Richard, a
Peel Region high school teacher, came to help. He is defending the lawsuit on behalf of the three.
Among the garbage bags Richard Harnett found in the garage, his statement of defence says, one was
particularly heavy. He opened it and found cartoons inside.
He also found cartoons in a second bag. A third bag contained cartoons "in a mouldy and wet condition,"
the statement says. "There were maggots in that bag" and he threw it out, he says.
The Wicks siblings intend to donate the cartoons in question to Ryerson University's archives if they win
the case, Vincent Wicks says in his affidavit. Ben Wicks donated material to the university in 1997, the
document says, and had an agreement to deposit more.
The only witness besides McLelland to testify yesterday was Leslie Fink, an art historian and appraiser.
The cartoons at issue date from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fink said, and remain in good but not
pristine condition.
The work would have had greater value when its creator was still alive and in the public eye, she said.
In 2005, when she assessed the work for the court case, she put an average value of the 2,408 drawings
at $23.99.
The trial, is expected to last until Thursday, is to hear from other witnesses, including cartoonist Andy
Donato and former Toronto mayor David Crombie.
drawings left behind in a move.
Vincent Wicks, the cartoonist's son, moved from Keswick to Vancouver 15 years ago, leaving a bunch of
garbage bags including three full of Ben Wicks cartoons.
They were discovered by Richard Harnett, the new homeowner's brother. The two brothers kept the
work and, six years ago, Richard proposed they publish a book with the best material.
They saw themselves as owners of the physical drawings and viewed the Wicks estate as the copyright
holder. Wicks died of cancer in 2000 at age 73.
When they contacted the Wicks family for permission to publish, however, the family sued to recover the
cartoons, valued by an expert witness at $57,770.32 in 2005.
"My mother (Doreen Wicks) was distraught," Susan McLelland said, between sobs, of the family learning
that cartoons were and somebody else was proposing to profit from them. Doreen Wicks died in 2004.
"His work is a treasure to us," McLelland said at another point, speaking for the family. "His work is a
treasure to this country."
McLelland, one of Wicks's three children, testified at length about how proud the family was of her
father, a London Cockney, for rising out of childhood poverty to become a Member of the Order of
Canada.
He and Doreen arrived in Canada in 1957 with $25. He took jobs as a musician, milkman and window-
washer – anything to help make ends meet, McLelland said, finally breaking into cartooning with the U.
S. magazine The Saturday Evening Post.
Beginning in the 1960s, he became a syndicated cartoonist in Canada and the United States. For years he
produced two daily and two weekly comic strips, and wrote books in between. At one point he drew for
the Toronto Star and the Toronto Star Syndicate.
He also saved everything.
"File by pile," McClelland testified yesterday to describe her father's archival method. "He had a creative
mind and filing wasn't really in his thinking."
He saved original drawings of cartoons, unfinished drafts, newspaper and magazine clippings of his
work, paintings for animated films, audio tapes of radio broadcasts he gave, and videotapes of television
appearances.
When one box filled up, he would start another. When his house filled up, and his three children grew
up, he gave them boxes to store as well.
McClelland said when she moved into her first house in 1985, she and her husband extended a closet
across the entire length of the spare room for her father's boxes.
None of the boxes was numbered. Nobody knew how many existed, just that they were scattered around
various family homes.
Despite the lack of apparent organization, McClelland said, her father seemed to retain a sense of where
certain things were and would call sometimes to retrieve material as inspiration for new projects.
In 1992, Vincent Wicks sold his house in Keswick.
"At the time of the sale, I packed up what I thought were all the cartoons (in my possession) and moved
them with me," he says in a court affidavit.
He sold the house to David Harnett and his wife, Mary Rixon. On moving day, Harnett's brother Richard, a
Peel Region high school teacher, came to help. He is defending the lawsuit on behalf of the three.
Among the garbage bags Richard Harnett found in the garage, his statement of defence says, one was
particularly heavy. He opened it and found cartoons inside.
He also found cartoons in a second bag. A third bag contained cartoons "in a mouldy and wet condition,"
the statement says. "There were maggots in that bag" and he threw it out, he says.
The Wicks siblings intend to donate the cartoons in question to Ryerson University's archives if they win
the case, Vincent Wicks says in his affidavit. Ben Wicks donated material to the university in 1997, the
document says, and had an agreement to deposit more.
The only witness besides McLelland to testify yesterday was Leslie Fink, an art historian and appraiser.
The cartoons at issue date from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fink said, and remain in good but not
pristine condition.
The work would have had greater value when its creator was still alive and in the public eye, she said.
In 2005, when she assessed the work for the court case, she put an average value of the 2,408 drawings
at $23.99.
The trial, is expected to last until Thursday, is to hear from other witnesses, including cartoonist Andy
Donato and former Toronto mayor David Crombie.
| Who owns Wicks cartoons? Wicks's family is in court fighting for 2,400 drawings left in a garage BY John Goddard May 15, 2007 - The Toronto Star |
The man at the centre of a legal dispute over the ownership of more than 2,400 original Ben Wicks
drawings said he was an admirer of the late syndicated cartoonist.
"I'm a big fan of Ben Wicks. Ben Wicks is probably one of my heroes," Richard Harnett, a Peel Region
high school teacher and cartoon enthusiast, told court yesterday on the second day of the civil trial as
Wicks' three children fight to reclaim the original artwork.
Harnett, a computer science teacher and former history teacher with a special interest in immigration
history, said he admired the way Wicks came almost penniless to Canada from England in 1957 and rose
to become an internationally renowned cartoonist, philanthropist and a member of the Order of Canada.
Harnett, who has been teaching in Peel for 19 years and won an Excellence in Education award in 2000
from the Peel school board, said he came to meet Wicks before the cartoonist died in 2000.
Harnett said he recognized Wicks and met him seven or eight times walking on the waterfront where
Harnett had a boat.
"We weren't friends, but I knew him enough to speak to him," Harnett told Ontario Superior Court.
Harnett said he mentioned to Wicks that he came into possession of some of the cartoonist's works but
didn't mention the number of items he had acquired.
"He seemed pleased," Harnett said, adding Wicks had signed a Best of Wicks book.
The Wicks family is arguing before Judge Thomas Lederer that 2,408 of Wicks' original cartoons were
mistakenly left behind in a garage when movers missed them after Wicks' son, Vincent, and his wife at
the time, Lori, sold their house in Keswick to move to Vancouver in 1992.
Harnett, whose brother David bought the house, is arguing the cartoons, valued in 2005 at about
$57,770, were abandoned and are rightfully his.
Richard Harnett told the court he found the collection of art in three garbage bags in his brother's
garage.
It wasn't until 2001, after Wicks had died, that Harnett approached the family about a possible project
because they held the copyrights. In May 2002, he was served papers for legal action to reclaim the
cartoons. Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato and former Toronto mayor David Crombie testified
yesterday that Wicks would not have thrown his artworks out.
"He valued them (his cartoons) very highly," said Donato, a former colleague and friend.
"He placed great value on the work he had done," Crombie testified. "He was proud of it."
The trial is expected to wrap up today with final submissions.
drawings said he was an admirer of the late syndicated cartoonist.
"I'm a big fan of Ben Wicks. Ben Wicks is probably one of my heroes," Richard Harnett, a Peel Region
high school teacher and cartoon enthusiast, told court yesterday on the second day of the civil trial as
Wicks' three children fight to reclaim the original artwork.
Harnett, a computer science teacher and former history teacher with a special interest in immigration
history, said he admired the way Wicks came almost penniless to Canada from England in 1957 and rose
to become an internationally renowned cartoonist, philanthropist and a member of the Order of Canada.
Harnett, who has been teaching in Peel for 19 years and won an Excellence in Education award in 2000
from the Peel school board, said he came to meet Wicks before the cartoonist died in 2000.
Harnett said he recognized Wicks and met him seven or eight times walking on the waterfront where
Harnett had a boat.
"We weren't friends, but I knew him enough to speak to him," Harnett told Ontario Superior Court.
Harnett said he mentioned to Wicks that he came into possession of some of the cartoonist's works but
didn't mention the number of items he had acquired.
"He seemed pleased," Harnett said, adding Wicks had signed a Best of Wicks book.
The Wicks family is arguing before Judge Thomas Lederer that 2,408 of Wicks' original cartoons were
mistakenly left behind in a garage when movers missed them after Wicks' son, Vincent, and his wife at
the time, Lori, sold their house in Keswick to move to Vancouver in 1992.
Harnett, whose brother David bought the house, is arguing the cartoons, valued in 2005 at about
$57,770, were abandoned and are rightfully his.
Richard Harnett told the court he found the collection of art in three garbage bags in his brother's
garage.
It wasn't until 2001, after Wicks had died, that Harnett approached the family about a possible project
because they held the copyrights. In May 2002, he was served papers for legal action to reclaim the
cartoons. Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato and former Toronto mayor David Crombie testified
yesterday that Wicks would not have thrown his artworks out.
"He valued them (his cartoons) very highly," said Donato, a former colleague and friend.
"He placed great value on the work he had done," Crombie testified. "He was proud of it."
The trial is expected to wrap up today with final submissions.
| Wicks fan says cartoons are his Family counters they were lost while moving May 16, 2007 -- Curtis Rush -- Toronto Star |
The man who took possession of more than 2,400 original Ben Wicks drawings left behind in a housing
move 15 years ago said Tuesday that he was an admirer of the late syndicated cartoonist.
"Ben Wicks is probably one of my heroes," Richard Harnett, a Peel Region high school teacher and
cartoon enthusiast, told court on the second day of the civil trial as Wicks' three children fight to reclaim
the original artwork.
Harnett, a computer science teacher and former history teacher with a special interest in immigration
history, said he admired the way Wicks came almost penniless to Canada from England in 1957 and rose
to become an internationally renowned cartoonist, philanthropist and a member of the Order of Canada.
Harnett, who has been teaching in Peel for 19 years and won an Excellence in Education award in 2000
from the Peel school board, said he met several times before before the cartoonist died in 2000.
"We weren't friends, but I knew him enough to speak to him," Harnett told Ontario Superior Court.
During their encounters on the waterfront, where Harnett has a boat, he said he mentioned to Wicks that
he came into possession of some of the cartoonist's works, but didn't mention the volume he had
acquired.
"He seemed pleased," Harnett said, adding Wicks had also signed a copy of a "Best of Wicks" book.
The Wicks family is arguing before Judge Thomas Lederer that 2,408 of Wicks' original cartoons were
mistakenly left behind in a garage when movers missed them after Wicks' son Vincent and his wife at the
time, Lori, sold the house in Keswick to move to Vancouver.
Harnett is arguing that the cartoons, which were valued in 2005 at about $57,770, were abandoned and
are rightfully his.
The lawyer for the Wicks family, Megan Mackey, will begin her cross-examination of Harnett Wednesday
morning.
The last witness to testify will be the brother of Richard Harnett, David, who bought the Keswick house
from Vincent Wicks in 1992.
Richard Harnett said he found the collection of art in three garbage bags in his brother's garage. The
drawings were in the bags along with kitchen refuse, tin cans, cereal boxes and maggots, he told court.
It wasn't until 2001, after Wicks had died, that Harnett approached the family by phone.
When he told them he had possession of the drawings, Harnett said no one from the family asked for
them back.
Later, in September 2001, Harnett sent Vincent Wicks a written proposal to discuss a possible project
since the Wicks family maintained the copyright to the original cartoons.
In a letter entered into evidence, Harnett wrote to Vincent Wicks in 2001 that "a number of years ago, my
brother and I acquired a large amount of your father's artwork. ... We have discussed different
opportunities including art gallery showings of numbered reproductions, or a published sequel to "Best
of Wicks" copyrighted in 1993."
Further on in the letter, Harnett writes: "We would like to arrange a meeting with you, and if appropriate,
your mother, to explore ideas and to develop a framework that would be advantageous to all of us and to
the fans of Ben Wicks."
It wasn't until May 2002 that he was served papers for legal action to reclaim the cartoons. Doreen Wicks,
wife of Ben, began legal action but died in 2004. The family is carrying on the action.
Earlier Tuesday, Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato and former Toronto mayor David Crombie testified
that Ben Wicks valued his cartoons so highly that he would not have thrown any out.
"He valued them (his cartoons) very highly," Donato, a former colleague and friend, told court.
He added, however, that the late cartoonist's filing system was "pretty helter skelter."
Donato recounted that Wicks, at one time, became upset because he thought his work designated for an
archive wasn't being appraised highly enough.
Ex-mayor Crombie told court that in all his years knowing Wicks, he did not know him as a person who
threw out his artwork.
"He placed great value on the work he had done," Crombie testified. "He was proud of it. He was not a
person who would throw away something of value."
Earlier, Lori Pearson, the now ex-wife of Vincent Wicks, told court about the events on the day she, her
husband and three children moved out of their Keswick home in 1992 to a new home in Vancouver.
A week or so prior to the move, Vincent moved out west, leaving Lori to take care of the move. She said
on the day of the move she was distracted chasing three small children around the house.
Vince's ex-wife said the move was almost complete when she left her real-estate agent in charge of
making sure the last possessions were loaded into the truck. No garbage was ever stored in the garage,
Lori testified.
"The garage was packed to the rafters," she said.
When the family began unpacking in Vancouver, no one made mention of the fact that artwork was
missing, court heard.
"I didn't notice anything missing," Lori testified. "I didn't do a count of boxes and bags."
At the outset of Tuesday's proceedings, Lederer reprimanded one of Wicks' children, Susan McLelland,
for appearing on Andy Barrie's morning radio show on the CBC to comment on the case.
The lawyer for the defendant, Charles Campbell, complained that McLelland had talked in negative tones
about his client.
While not recalling "hearing anything particularly negative about your client, it creates complications,"
Lederer said.
"It is a bit of a problem for all of us" to have witnesses talking to the media outside the courtroom while
the case is before the courts, the judge said, staring at McLelland and her lawyer, Megan Mackey.
However, Lederer said he was not unduly influenced by the interview, which he had heard.
McLelland was on the witness stand on Monday, the first day of the trial. The trial is expected to wrap up
Wednesday with final submissions.
move 15 years ago said Tuesday that he was an admirer of the late syndicated cartoonist.
"Ben Wicks is probably one of my heroes," Richard Harnett, a Peel Region high school teacher and
cartoon enthusiast, told court on the second day of the civil trial as Wicks' three children fight to reclaim
the original artwork.
Harnett, a computer science teacher and former history teacher with a special interest in immigration
history, said he admired the way Wicks came almost penniless to Canada from England in 1957 and rose
to become an internationally renowned cartoonist, philanthropist and a member of the Order of Canada.
Harnett, who has been teaching in Peel for 19 years and won an Excellence in Education award in 2000
from the Peel school board, said he met several times before before the cartoonist died in 2000.
"We weren't friends, but I knew him enough to speak to him," Harnett told Ontario Superior Court.
During their encounters on the waterfront, where Harnett has a boat, he said he mentioned to Wicks that
he came into possession of some of the cartoonist's works, but didn't mention the volume he had
acquired.
"He seemed pleased," Harnett said, adding Wicks had also signed a copy of a "Best of Wicks" book.
The Wicks family is arguing before Judge Thomas Lederer that 2,408 of Wicks' original cartoons were
mistakenly left behind in a garage when movers missed them after Wicks' son Vincent and his wife at the
time, Lori, sold the house in Keswick to move to Vancouver.
Harnett is arguing that the cartoons, which were valued in 2005 at about $57,770, were abandoned and
are rightfully his.
The lawyer for the Wicks family, Megan Mackey, will begin her cross-examination of Harnett Wednesday
morning.
The last witness to testify will be the brother of Richard Harnett, David, who bought the Keswick house
from Vincent Wicks in 1992.
Richard Harnett said he found the collection of art in three garbage bags in his brother's garage. The
drawings were in the bags along with kitchen refuse, tin cans, cereal boxes and maggots, he told court.
It wasn't until 2001, after Wicks had died, that Harnett approached the family by phone.
When he told them he had possession of the drawings, Harnett said no one from the family asked for
them back.
Later, in September 2001, Harnett sent Vincent Wicks a written proposal to discuss a possible project
since the Wicks family maintained the copyright to the original cartoons.
In a letter entered into evidence, Harnett wrote to Vincent Wicks in 2001 that "a number of years ago, my
brother and I acquired a large amount of your father's artwork. ... We have discussed different
opportunities including art gallery showings of numbered reproductions, or a published sequel to "Best
of Wicks" copyrighted in 1993."
Further on in the letter, Harnett writes: "We would like to arrange a meeting with you, and if appropriate,
your mother, to explore ideas and to develop a framework that would be advantageous to all of us and to
the fans of Ben Wicks."
It wasn't until May 2002 that he was served papers for legal action to reclaim the cartoons. Doreen Wicks,
wife of Ben, began legal action but died in 2004. The family is carrying on the action.
Earlier Tuesday, Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato and former Toronto mayor David Crombie testified
that Ben Wicks valued his cartoons so highly that he would not have thrown any out.
"He valued them (his cartoons) very highly," Donato, a former colleague and friend, told court.
He added, however, that the late cartoonist's filing system was "pretty helter skelter."
Donato recounted that Wicks, at one time, became upset because he thought his work designated for an
archive wasn't being appraised highly enough.
Ex-mayor Crombie told court that in all his years knowing Wicks, he did not know him as a person who
threw out his artwork.
"He placed great value on the work he had done," Crombie testified. "He was proud of it. He was not a
person who would throw away something of value."
Earlier, Lori Pearson, the now ex-wife of Vincent Wicks, told court about the events on the day she, her
husband and three children moved out of their Keswick home in 1992 to a new home in Vancouver.
A week or so prior to the move, Vincent moved out west, leaving Lori to take care of the move. She said
on the day of the move she was distracted chasing three small children around the house.
Vince's ex-wife said the move was almost complete when she left her real-estate agent in charge of
making sure the last possessions were loaded into the truck. No garbage was ever stored in the garage,
Lori testified.
"The garage was packed to the rafters," she said.
When the family began unpacking in Vancouver, no one made mention of the fact that artwork was
missing, court heard.
"I didn't notice anything missing," Lori testified. "I didn't do a count of boxes and bags."
At the outset of Tuesday's proceedings, Lederer reprimanded one of Wicks' children, Susan McLelland,
for appearing on Andy Barrie's morning radio show on the CBC to comment on the case.
The lawyer for the defendant, Charles Campbell, complained that McLelland had talked in negative tones
about his client.
While not recalling "hearing anything particularly negative about your client, it creates complications,"
Lederer said.
"It is a bit of a problem for all of us" to have witnesses talking to the media outside the courtroom while
the case is before the courts, the judge said, staring at McLelland and her lawyer, Megan Mackey.
However, Lederer said he was not unduly influenced by the interview, which he had heard.
McLelland was on the witness stand on Monday, the first day of the trial. The trial is expected to wrap up
Wednesday with final submissions.
| Wicks valued cartoons, trial told May 15, 2007 -- Curtis Rush -- Toronto Star |
The court action launched to reclaim a vast collection of Ben Wicks' cartoons bogged down in legal
arguments yesterday, pushing final submissions over to this morning.
The trial centres on the issue of abandonment and whether the family of the syndicated cartoonist and
philanthropist deserted the property, which consists of more than 2,400 cartoons stretching back to the
1960s.
Ben Wicks, who had moved to a condo late in his life, had stored many boxes of cartoons at his
children's homes, either in cartons or loosely in green garbage bags.
In 1992, when his son Vincent and his then-wife, Lori, moved from Keswick to Vancouver, the movers left
behind the cartoons, Superior Court has heard.
David Harnett moved into the home and his brother, Peel Region teacher Richard Harnett, discovered
the cartoons weeks later when he was cleaning out the home's garage.
Richard Harnett didn't notify the family of the collection until 2001 and, six weeks weeks later, the family
sent a letter demanding the works back and threatening legal action.
Court heard that Richard Harnett was served papers in May 2002 by Doreen, the wife of Ben Wicks. When
she died in 2004, the family carried on the action.
Megan Mackey, lawyer for the Wicks family, said yesterday in her closing submissions that the legal
definition of abandonment puts the onus on the finder of the property to prove that the property was
abandoned.
Judge Thomas Lederer agreed, saying to Richard Harnett's lawyer, Charles Campbell, "the onus is very
high here."
"We don't want people to be easily enriched at the cost of others," the judge said.
The cartoons were all found in three garbage bags, two of which contained kitchen refuse.
Mackey countered yesterday that the family never put their garbage in the garage, but instead used
containers at the side of the house.
She speculated that it was David Harnett who in fact had placed material in the bags.
The cartoons "could have become mixed up with the Harnett garbage," she told court.
Mackey, cross-examining Richard Harnett, asked why he didn't contact the family when he found the
cartoons.
Court later heard that Richard Harnett tried to contact the family about 11 months after Ben Wicks died in
2000 to inquire about collaborating on a project since the Wicks family owned the copyrights to the
drawings.
Art appraiser Leslie Fink has testified she valued the work at about $57,700 in 2005.
arguments yesterday, pushing final submissions over to this morning.
The trial centres on the issue of abandonment and whether the family of the syndicated cartoonist and
philanthropist deserted the property, which consists of more than 2,400 cartoons stretching back to the
1960s.
Ben Wicks, who had moved to a condo late in his life, had stored many boxes of cartoons at his
children's homes, either in cartons or loosely in green garbage bags.
In 1992, when his son Vincent and his then-wife, Lori, moved from Keswick to Vancouver, the movers left
behind the cartoons, Superior Court has heard.
David Harnett moved into the home and his brother, Peel Region teacher Richard Harnett, discovered
the cartoons weeks later when he was cleaning out the home's garage.
Richard Harnett didn't notify the family of the collection until 2001 and, six weeks weeks later, the family
sent a letter demanding the works back and threatening legal action.
Court heard that Richard Harnett was served papers in May 2002 by Doreen, the wife of Ben Wicks. When
she died in 2004, the family carried on the action.
Megan Mackey, lawyer for the Wicks family, said yesterday in her closing submissions that the legal
definition of abandonment puts the onus on the finder of the property to prove that the property was
abandoned.
Judge Thomas Lederer agreed, saying to Richard Harnett's lawyer, Charles Campbell, "the onus is very
high here."
"We don't want people to be easily enriched at the cost of others," the judge said.
The cartoons were all found in three garbage bags, two of which contained kitchen refuse.
Mackey countered yesterday that the family never put their garbage in the garage, but instead used
containers at the side of the house.
She speculated that it was David Harnett who in fact had placed material in the bags.
The cartoons "could have become mixed up with the Harnett garbage," she told court.
Mackey, cross-examining Richard Harnett, asked why he didn't contact the family when he found the
cartoons.
Court later heard that Richard Harnett tried to contact the family about 11 months after Ben Wicks died in
2000 to inquire about collaborating on a project since the Wicks family owned the copyrights to the
drawings.
Art appraiser Leslie Fink has testified she valued the work at about $57,700 in 2005.
| Wicks trial bogs down Man must show that cartoonist's family meant to abandon cache of his drawings May 17, 2007 -- Curtis Rush -- Toronto Star |
Previous Article: Cartoonist's drawings focus of court battle
| The Life and work of Ben Wicks Toronto Star Slide Show |
| Trial would have `upset' Ben Wicks Fight over abandoned drawings takes toll on Wicks' family but, on a lighter note, gives glimpse into life of a sketch artist May 18, 2007 -- Curtis Rush -- Toronto Star |
Susan McLelland, the 46-year-old daughter of the late cartoonist Ben Wicks, revisits the pub and
restaurant that still bears her father's name – the Ben Wicks on Parliament St., just north of Gerrard St.
She hasn't been there for months, but went back yesterday afternoon to reminisce about her father at
the end of an unusual four-day trial, set in motion by her late mother Doreen to reclaim a vast collection
of her father's drawings left behind 15 years ago in a move.
A Peel Region high school teacher, Richard Harnett, found the cartoons – valued by an art appraiser in
2005 at about $57,700 – at the home vacated by Ben Wicks' son Vincent in Keswick.
Rarely, if ever, has a civil case dwelled so much on the legal ramifications of "garbage" or green
garbage bags, the method by which Wicks stored many of his works.
In a more interesting sense, however, the trial revealed stunning insights into the work of a sketch
artist, who was incredibly disorganized for all his genius and was even worse at financial management.
Outside the restaurant, a mural that Wicks painted of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau with the "So
what?" caption remains intact, marred only slightly by some graffiti.
Inside, on the walls of the Cabbagetown restaurant, many of his sketches still hang, offering political
commentary on an earlier era.
McLelland gets sentimental talking about her father's work and the fight the family is going through to
get back more than 2,400 of them.
Her father opened the restaurant in 1980, but sold it less than three years later after losing his shirt.
"He wasn't a very good businessman," McLelland had said in her testimony.
In fact, the man who had come from England dirt poor in 1957 left a lot of debt when he died, according
to McLelland.
"My dad apologized to the family on his deathbed for not leaving more," McLelland testified.
The trial heard that Wicks used a "file by pile" method. The case also heard that his son Vincent never
put garbage in his garage, which was used mostly for storage.
The Superior Court judge in the case, Thomas Lederer, reserved his decision, expected within a few
weeks.
The case centres on the legal definition of abandonment.
Lederer warned the defendants that "the onus is very high here to prove specific intent" to abandon the
drawings, either expressly or by inference.
For McLelland, the trial brought back memories of her father with his pencil in his ear watching the news
and dreaming up his next political cartoon, which he would draw in blue pencil at the kitchen table.
Ben Wicks died of cancer at age 73 in 2000. What would Ben Wicks say about the fight over his drawings
now?
Susan McLelland bit her lip, held her eyes steady, and said evenly: "He would be very upset."
restaurant that still bears her father's name – the Ben Wicks on Parliament St., just north of Gerrard St.
She hasn't been there for months, but went back yesterday afternoon to reminisce about her father at
the end of an unusual four-day trial, set in motion by her late mother Doreen to reclaim a vast collection
of her father's drawings left behind 15 years ago in a move.
A Peel Region high school teacher, Richard Harnett, found the cartoons – valued by an art appraiser in
2005 at about $57,700 – at the home vacated by Ben Wicks' son Vincent in Keswick.
Rarely, if ever, has a civil case dwelled so much on the legal ramifications of "garbage" or green
garbage bags, the method by which Wicks stored many of his works.
In a more interesting sense, however, the trial revealed stunning insights into the work of a sketch
artist, who was incredibly disorganized for all his genius and was even worse at financial management.
Outside the restaurant, a mural that Wicks painted of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau with the "So
what?" caption remains intact, marred only slightly by some graffiti.
Inside, on the walls of the Cabbagetown restaurant, many of his sketches still hang, offering political
commentary on an earlier era.
McLelland gets sentimental talking about her father's work and the fight the family is going through to
get back more than 2,400 of them.
Her father opened the restaurant in 1980, but sold it less than three years later after losing his shirt.
"He wasn't a very good businessman," McLelland had said in her testimony.
In fact, the man who had come from England dirt poor in 1957 left a lot of debt when he died, according
to McLelland.
"My dad apologized to the family on his deathbed for not leaving more," McLelland testified.
The trial heard that Wicks used a "file by pile" method. The case also heard that his son Vincent never
put garbage in his garage, which was used mostly for storage.
The Superior Court judge in the case, Thomas Lederer, reserved his decision, expected within a few
weeks.
The case centres on the legal definition of abandonment.
Lederer warned the defendants that "the onus is very high here to prove specific intent" to abandon the
drawings, either expressly or by inference.
For McLelland, the trial brought back memories of her father with his pencil in his ear watching the news
and dreaming up his next political cartoon, which he would draw in blue pencil at the kitchen table.
Ben Wicks died of cancer at age 73 in 2000. What would Ben Wicks say about the fight over his drawings
now?
Susan McLelland bit her lip, held her eyes steady, and said evenly: "He would be very upset."
| Family of Ben Wicks wins back misplaced drawings Case of 2,800 cartoons left behind by movers sets legal precedent for protection of artists' works May 31, 2007 -- Curtis Rush -- Toronto Star |
In what is viewed as an important legal precedent for the protection of artists' works, a judge is ordering
the return of more than 2,800 Ben Wicks drawings to the family.
In an 11-page decision released yesterday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Lederer ruled the cartoons,
depicting political figures back to the late 1960s, are the property of the late political cartoonist and not
Richard Harnett, who found the drawings 15 years ago.
They had been left by movers, packed in green garbage bags when Wicks' son, Vincent, moved from
Keswick to Vancouver in 1992.
The family, which owned the copyright, only learned of the missing drawings when Harnett, a Peel Region
teacher, tried to negotiate a deal years later, after Wicks' death, to publish some of his works. The case,
tried in a Toronto courtroom this month, heard from witnesses such as former Toronto mayor David
Crombie and Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato, both of whom had worked with Wicks and testified to
his poor filing habits and unwillingness to throw material out.
When he and his wife moved to a condo with limited storage, Wicks stored many of his drawings at the
homes of his children, court heard.
Harnett argued the drawings were found in garbage bags with kitchen refuse, and the family meant to
abandon the famous drawings.
"I am so happy this turned out in our favour, for the sake of Mom and Dad," daughter Sue Wicks said.
Harnett would not comment until he talked to his lawyer, Charles Campbell,who couldn't be reached.
In his decision, Lederer said "the evidence is clear he (Wicks) sought to keep them all...The material was
simply not left." The law governing abandonment, the judge said, requires "a total desertion, and
absolute relinquishment of private goods by the former owner." This definition, he said, makes it clear
there must be a specific intent to abandon the drawings.
Lederer said the evidence showed Vincent Wicks never used the garage for garbage, only storage. After
learning of the missing drawings, Ben Wicks' now late wife, Doreen, sent a letter demanding them back.
Harnett later sold two to a gallery for $425. The judge ordered that money returned.
Sue Wicks said the cartoons would go"into the archives, just as my dad would have wished."
the return of more than 2,800 Ben Wicks drawings to the family.
In an 11-page decision released yesterday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Lederer ruled the cartoons,
depicting political figures back to the late 1960s, are the property of the late political cartoonist and not
Richard Harnett, who found the drawings 15 years ago.
They had been left by movers, packed in green garbage bags when Wicks' son, Vincent, moved from
Keswick to Vancouver in 1992.
The family, which owned the copyright, only learned of the missing drawings when Harnett, a Peel Region
teacher, tried to negotiate a deal years later, after Wicks' death, to publish some of his works. The case,
tried in a Toronto courtroom this month, heard from witnesses such as former Toronto mayor David
Crombie and Toronto Sun cartoonist Andy Donato, both of whom had worked with Wicks and testified to
his poor filing habits and unwillingness to throw material out.
When he and his wife moved to a condo with limited storage, Wicks stored many of his drawings at the
homes of his children, court heard.
Harnett argued the drawings were found in garbage bags with kitchen refuse, and the family meant to
abandon the famous drawings.
"I am so happy this turned out in our favour, for the sake of Mom and Dad," daughter Sue Wicks said.
Harnett would not comment until he talked to his lawyer, Charles Campbell,who couldn't be reached.
In his decision, Lederer said "the evidence is clear he (Wicks) sought to keep them all...The material was
simply not left." The law governing abandonment, the judge said, requires "a total desertion, and
absolute relinquishment of private goods by the former owner." This definition, he said, makes it clear
there must be a specific intent to abandon the drawings.
Lederer said the evidence showed Vincent Wicks never used the garage for garbage, only storage. After
learning of the missing drawings, Ben Wicks' now late wife, Doreen, sent a letter demanding them back.
Harnett later sold two to a gallery for $425. The judge ordered that money returned.
Sue Wicks said the cartoons would go"into the archives, just as my dad would have wished."