Henk Willemse was a Dutch artist. During his career, he was very involved in actions and plans to improve the social position of the artist. In the late 1940s, he was part of the group of artists who founded the Amsterdam Artists’ Combination (AKC). In the 1960s, he was active in the BBK, ‘Beroepsvereniging van Beeldende Kunstenaars’. As an artist, he was self-taught. He started his career during the Second World War, while he was into hiding. After the war, he won the Willink van Collenprijs in 1950 and befriended painters of the Cobra such as Karel Appel and Eugène Brands. He also was a teacher and travelled across Europe. He was a member of multiple artist associations.