Michael Leunig (2 June 1945 – 19 December 2024), typically referred to by his pen nameLeunig, was an Australiancartoonist, poet and artist. He was best known for his work for Melbourne'sThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald.
Leunig's works includeThe Curly Pyjama Letters, the cartoon booksThe Essential Leunig,The Wayward Leunig,The Stick,Goatperson,Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness andCurly Verse as well asThe Lot, a compilation of his "Curly World" newspaper columns. Leunig also wrote several books of prayers, includingA Common Prayer,The Prayer Tree andWhen I Talk To You.
Leunig, a fifth-generation Australian,[1] was born on 2 June 1945 inEast Melbourne, the eldest of five children.[2][3][4] He said he traced his family's ancestry to theHarz,Holy Roman Empire (now Germany), in the 16th century.[5] He grew up inFootscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne, where he went to Footscray North Primary School.[6] He then went toMaribyrnong High School, but as the school had not finished being built, he first had to attend classes held at the nearbyMelbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale.[7] He twice failed his final year examinations.[7]
Leunig was conscripted in theVietnam War call-up, but he registered as aconscientious objector; he was rejected on health grounds when it was revealed that he was deaf in one ear.[10]
Leunig continued to contribute cartoons for the Saturday edition ofThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald until he was sacked in August 2024, along with a number of other staff, as a cost-cutting measure.[14]
Leunig's drawings were done with a sparse and quivering line, usually in black and white withink wash; the human characters often drawn with exaggerated noses. This style served him well in his early years, when he gained a loyal following for his quirky take on social issues. He also made increasingly frequent forays into a personal fantasy world of whimsy, featuring small figures with teapots balanced on their heads, grotesquely curled hair and many ducks.[15]
Leunig frequently satirised concepts such asAmericanisation,greed,consumerism,corporations andwarmongering, in a personal proclamation against the "war on terror".[citation needed] Readers and critics took special note of his parodies of political matters, especially those concerning former Australian prime ministerJohn Howard and former American presidentGeorge W. Bush. These earned Leunig a description as a "political cartoonist",[16] although only some of his works were political in nature or reference. His work also frequently explored spiritual, religious and moral themes.[citation needed]
From a very early stage in his career, Leunig often included his own handwrittenpoetry within his cartoons;[17] subsequently he also published books of poetry. He was very open about his themes in interviews about his work.[18][19][20]
Leunig speaks at a demonstration in Melbourne against Israel's military actionin the Gaza War, 2009
Leunig's cartoons were occasionally a source of controversy. A colleague referred to his return to political cartooning in the late 1990s as his"Bob Dylan goes electric" moment.[24] In 2008, he wrote that "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state."[25]
Leunig opposed the2003 invasion of Iraq, commenting that "if a cartoonist is representing the government line on Iraq, they're nothing better than a propagandist".[16]
Leunig stated his opposition to theIsraeli government. Three of his cartoons between 2004 and 2006 drew letters of protest nationally and internationally.[citation needed] He partially defined his position in 2006, saying that the Israeli government had "gravely mishandled" the situation in Palestine, and "it bothers me deeply. It is my right to express it."[16]
A supposed Leunig cartoon came to international attention after it was entered in anIranian competition conceived by the newspaperHamshahri as retaliation for theMuhammad cartoons controversy. Leunig denied he had submitted the cartoon,[27] and demanded that it be withdrawn, which it was.[27] It later emerged that the cartoon had been submitted as a prank by Richard Cooke, a contributor to the Australian comedic teamThe Chaser.[28]
In November 2018, Leunig's 30-year association with theMelbourne Comedy Festival came to an end, after artists expressed concerns about being associated with Leunig'santi-vaccination views and his opposition to themarriage equality plebiscite. Leunig had designed the logo for the festival each year since 1988.[29]
Leunig's first marriage, to Pamela Munro, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Helga, in 1992 but they separated in the 2010s.[43] He was together with his last partner, Nicola Dierich, until his death. Leunig had four children.[44]
A documentary film about Leunig's life by Kasimir Burgess,The Leunig Fragments, was released in 2020 and revealed various difficulties that he had experienced with family relationships.[43] He did not attend his parents' funerals[45] and was not in regular contact with his siblings.[43]
Leunig's sister,Mary Leunig, is also an accomplished cartoonist.[46] In December 2019, she accused Leunig of sexually abusing her during childhood in a series of cartoons posted to her Facebook account.[47]
Leunig had a studio in the Melbourne suburb ofNorthcote and a country property in north-east Victoria.[43]
Leunig died in Melbourne, in the early hours of 19 December 2024, at the age of 79.[48][49]
Collections of press cartoons and original art and/or poems
The Penguin Leunig, intro.Barry Humphries (1974) (40th anniversary reissue 2014)
The Second Leunig: a Dusty Little Swag (1979)
The Bedtime Leunig (1981)
A Bag of Roosters (1983)
Ramming the Shears (1985)
The Travelling Leunig (1990)
A Common Prayer (1990)
The Prayer Tree (1991)
Introspective, foreword byHelen Garner (1991, to accompany exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria. (Reprinted asThe Michael Leunig Collection 1994.)
WithKarl Rahner,A Common Philosophy, ed. John Honner (1992)
Everyday Devils and Angels (1992)
A Bunch of Poesy (1992)
You and Me (1995)
Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness (1996)
"The Teapot of Truth" (Australia Post 1998)
Why Dogs Sniff Each Other's Tails (1998)
Goatperson and Other Tales (1999)
Carnival of the Animals (2000)
The Curly Pyjama Letters (2001)
The Stick and Other Tales of our Times (2002)
Poems, 1972-2002 (2003)
Strange Creature (2003)
When I Talk to You (2004)
Wild Figments (2004)
A New Penguin Leunig (2005)
Hot ... and Bothered (2007)
The Lot: in Words (2008)
The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path (2012)
Holy Fool (2013)
Musings from the Inner Duck (2015)
The Wayward Leunig: Cartoons That Wandered Off (2015)
^"Swinburne School and Television 21 years old, 1986".Swinburne Commons.Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved8 December 2024.Poster to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Swinburne School of Film and Television, 1986. Poster includes cartoon by Swinburne alumnus Michael Leunig.
^Leunig, Michael (14 October 2006)."Lest we forget".The Age.Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved13 December 2013.
^Leunig, Michael (23 April 2000). "A Leunig kind of thing".The Catholic Weekly (interview by Dan McAloon). Vol. 59, no. 4008. pp. 12–13.ISSN0008-8420.For more than 30 years Michael Leunig has presented his unique cartoon vision of the human condition.
^Croggon, Alison (2 April 1991), "My life with a duck. -Cartoonist Michael Leunig-",Bulletin (Sydney):98–99,ISSN1440-7485
^Holland, Angus (21 November 1995), "Mr Curly comes clean. -Inside the Michael Leunig asylum.-",Sydney Weekly:12–15,ISSN1324-3993
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