[1] Bidstrup was educated as a painter at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and throughout his career he authored more than 5,000 cartoons.
As a communist, Bidstrup drew many cartoons about international politics and social themes, as well as subject matter related to the effects of World War II.
He was employed as a cartoonist at the Danish communist newspaper "Land og Folk" from after the war until his death in 1988 and he caricatured many politicians among his political and satirical cartoons.
Bidstrup travelled extensively throughout his career, in particular in the socialist countries of the Eastern Bloc, most notably East Germany and the Soviet Union where he also produced animated movies and exhibited.
During the German occupation of Denmark in World War II he lived in the US, and in his time he was among the most popular and well-known Danish artists abroad.