Anton Franciscus Pieck (19 April 1895 – 24 November 1987) was a Dutch painter, artist and graphic artist.

Anton Pieck was extraordinarily popular during his lifetime. From 1938 on he started designing Christmas cards for the children’s benefit organization Voor Het Kind, which were not only a success in his home country but also huge best-sellers in the United States. This lead to a huge industry which reduplicated his paintings as imagery on greeting cards, calendars and puzzles.

His illustrations of Grimm’s fairy tales directly led to Pieck’s most famous contribution to Dutch popular culture: theme park De Efteling. In the early 1950s he was asked to make designs for a fairy tale forest set in Kaatsheuvel. At first he wasn’t interested, since he assumed it would merely be a couple of cardboard sets. When the organizers convinced him they would build actual houses based on his designs, the artist eventually opened up to the idea. On 31 May 1952 the theme park Efteling opened for visitors. Pieck designed all the houses, buildings and animatronic inhabitants of the fairy tale forest, including Little Red Riding Hood at her grandma’s house, Sleeping Beauty’s castle, Frau Holle’s well and Hansel and Gretel’s gingerbread house. Lesser known tales like ‘The Six Servants’ were also included.ммм

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General audiences still love Pieck’s cosy and nostalgic drawings and buy this merchandising by the score. Surprisingly enough, many are too young to have ever experienced the time periods themselves. The majority even live in modern cities, far removed from these old-fashioned buildings next to nature. Yet many can relate to the simpler times in the “good old days”, as romanticized as they are. And thanks to De Efteling and the Autotron they can even visit it in real life, which might explain their success. These attractions function as some kind of time portal, much like the illustrations themselves. Pieck is so beloved with audiences that in 2004 he was voted to the 81th place during the election of “The Greatest Dutchman”.

Despite never having been accepted by highbrow art fans Anton Pieck’s popularity has endured, even after his death. De Efteling still attracts thousands of visitors to this day. Pieck’s books and paintings keep being reprinted much for the delight of his many admirers in his native country and abroad.More about the artist here.