Ed Hechtman is an accomplished fine artist and cartoonist well known throughout most of South Florida and his native Chicago. His work has been exhibited in numerous art galleries, local shows and museums for more than fifty years, including The Boca Raton Museum of Art. The museum recently hosted an extremely well received one-man exhibition of Ed’s paintings entitled "Ed Hechtman — The Creative Impulse".

Ed is also renown for his popular comic strip THE BEST YEARS, which has been featured in the Palm Beach Post “Accent” section every Sunday for the past fifteen years. Over the years, his various cartoon strips have appeared in numerous local and regional newspapers. For the past five years, Ed has enjoyed sharing this special talent, by teaching aspiring young cartoonists at the Boca Raton Museum Art School.

Now in his middle 80’s, Ed remains an exceptionally energetic and prolific artist. His paintings run the gamut from masterful oils in full color and sepia tones to colorful modern and whimsical acrylics. Subject matter is equally diverse.., each painting coming with its own special title and story. His works are proudly displayed in the homes of many well known business executives, celebrities, personal friends and other members of the art-loving public.

Following his tour of duty in World War II, where he wrote and illustrated comic strips and cartoons for Army newspapers, Ed returned to Chicago to begin his career as a successful self- employed commercial artist. Seeking a broader and more creative outlet for his artistic, sales and marketing skills, he and a partner formed their own advertising agency in 1960. Their venture focused primarily on developing multi-media advertising and marketing programs for consumer and light industrial companies and remained viable for nearly thirty years.

Married for sixty four years, he and his beloved wife, Serkie moved to Delray Beach, Florida in 1992. Not knowing the meaning of the word “retire”, Ed continues to paint and cartoon every day. Four years ago, he began exercising his creative writing skills, by penning and illustrating children’s and senior citizen-focused books. In what “spare” time he has, he enjoys spending time with Serkie, their numerous friends, two children, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.