Michael Leunig
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Michael Leunig (2 June 1945 – 19 December 2024), typically referred to by his pen name Leunig, was an Australian
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
, poet and artist. He was best known for his work for Melbourne's ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', and ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
''. Leunig's works include ''The Curly Pyjama Letters'', the cartoon books ''The Essential Leunig'', ''The Wayward Leunig'', ''The Stick'', ''Goatperson'', ''Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness'' and ''Curly Verse'' as well as ''The Lot'', a compilation of his "Curly World" newspaper columns. Leunig also wrote several books of prayers, including ''A Common Prayer'', ''The Prayer Tree'' and ''When I Talk To You''. Leunig was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the
National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...
in 1999.


Early life and education

Leunig, a fifth-generation Australian, was born on 2 June 1945 in
East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...
, the eldest of five children. He said he traced his family's ancestry to the
Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...
,
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
(now Germany), in the 16th century. He grew up in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne, where he went to Footscray North Primary School. He then went to Maribyrnong High School, but as the school had not finished being built, he first had to attend classes held at the nearby
Melbourne Showgrounds Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showground ...
in Ascot Vale. He twice failed his final year examinations. After working as a labourer in an
abattoir In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...
, Leunig enrolled at the
Swinburne Film and Television School Swinburne Film and Television School was a film school that was part of Swinburne Technical College from 1966 until 1991. The college offered the first tertiary course in filmmaking in Australia, and was founded and led for many years by filmma ...
, where he was at first interested in making documentaries. Leunig was conscripted in the Vietnam War call-up, but he registered as a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
; he was rejected on health grounds when it was revealed that he was deaf in one ear.


Career

Leunig began his cartoon career while studying at Swinburne in 1965 when his cartoons appeared in the
Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
student newspaper ''
Lot's Wife In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19. The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom during its destruction by God. She is not named in the Bible, but is called Ado or ...
''. In the early 1970s his work appeared in the radical/satirical magazines ''
Nation Review ''Nation Review'' was an Australian Sunday newspaper, which ceased publication in 1981. It was launched in 1972 after independent publisher Gordon Barton bought out Tom Fitzgerald (economist), Tom Fitzgerald's ''Nation (Australia), Nation'' publ ...
'', ''
The Digger ''The Digger'' is a 24-page magazine in Glasgow, Scotland which focusses on crime stories. It is published weekly, in an A5 newsletter format. In 2012, the magazine went from newsprint to glossy. Background The magazine was founded by James Cr ...
'' and London's '' Oz'' magazine, as well as mainstream publications including ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
'' and ''
Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters magazines. ...
''. The main outlet for Leunig's work was the daily
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
newspapers, Melbourne's ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' and ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
''. The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
also provided airtime to Leunig to discuss his views on a range of political and philosophical issues. Leunig continued to contribute cartoons for the Saturday edition of ''The Age'' and ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' until he was sacked in August 2024, along with a number of other staff, as a cost-cutting measure.


Cartoons


Style and themes

Leunig's drawings were done with a sparse and quivering line, usually in black and white with
ink wash Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses washes of black ink, such as that used in East Asian calligraphy, in different concentrations. It emerged during the Tang dynasty ...
; 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. Leunig frequently satirised concepts such as
Americanisation Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...
,
greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...
,
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
,
corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
s and
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
mongering, in a personal proclamation against the " war on terror". Readers and critics took special note of his parodies of political matters, especially those concerning former Australian prime minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
and former American president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. These earned Leunig a description as a "
political cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...
ist", although only some of his works were political in nature or reference. His work also frequently explored spiritual, religious and moral themes. From a very early stage in his career, Leunig often included his own handwritten
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
within his cartoons; subsequently he also published books of poetry. He was very open about his themes in interviews about his work.


Characters

In the series of cartoons that Leunig created, a number of characters persistently appeared, including: * The Duck * Mr Curly – a contented character who is at ease in the natural world *Vasco Pyjama – a restless wanderer who sometimes seeks the counsel of Mr Curly


Controversial works

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. In 2008, he wrote that "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state." Leunig opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, commenting that "if a cartoonist is representing the government line on Iraq, they're nothing better than a propagandist". In 2006,
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
partially censored a Leunig cartoon criticising the then prime minister,
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
; the cartoon was published in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
but not in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. Leunig stated his opposition to the
Israeli government The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government (also known as the cabinet). Legislat ...
. Three of his cartoons between 2004 and 2006 drew letters of protest nationally and internationally. 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." A supposed Leunig cartoon came to international attention after it was entered in an Iranian competition conceived by the newspaper ''
Hamshahri ''Hamshahri'' (; ) is a major Iranian national Persian-language newspaper in Tehran (whose municipal government owns the newspaper). History and profile ''Hamshahri'' is published by the municipality of Tehran, and founded by Gholamhossein ...
'' as retaliation for the Muhammad cartoons controversy. Leunig denied he had submitted the cartoon, and demanded that it be withdrawn, which it was. It later emerged that the cartoon had been submitted as a prank by Richard Cooke, a contributor to the Australian comedic team ''
The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...
''. In November 2018, Leunig's 30-year association with the
Melbourne Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...
came to an end, after artists expressed concerns about being associated with Leunig's
anti-vaccination Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...
views and his opposition to the marriage equality plebiscite. Leunig had designed the logo for the festival each year since 1988. In September 2021, Leunig's cartoon contributions for the editorial page in the Monday edition of ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' were ended following the paper's rejection for publication of a cartoon he had drawn in response to COVID-19 vaccination requirements in Australia. The cartoon compared resistance to vaccine requirements to the
Tank Man The Tank Man (also known as the Unknown Protester or Unknown Rebel) is the nickname given to an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks leaving Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June ...
in
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
.


Recognition and other activities

In 1986, Leunig decorated a Melbourne tram with cartoon characters, sponsored by the
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...
. In 1999, Leunig was declared an National Living Treasure by the
National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...
. In 2006, Australian musician
Gyan Evans Gyan Evans (born c. 1960), who performs as Gyan (), is an Australian singer-songwriter and record producer. She began her musical career in the Sydney band Haiku before winning the 1986 grand final in the local version of the TV talent quest '' ...
released the album '' Billy the Rabbit'', based on the poetry of Leunig. Gyan and Leunig launched the album at the
Melbourne Writers Festival Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. The Festival runs during early September each year. Melbourne Writers Festival is part of the Word Alliance, a ...
, with Leunig illustrating during Gyan's singing. They also performed together at the Byron Writers Festival and the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
. Leunig performed at the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.
of the
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held in Melbourne, Australia between 15 and 26 March 2006. It w ...
, wearing a duck costume. That same year, for his work on ''Southern Star'', Leunig was co-recipient of the 2006 APRA Music Award together with Christopher Willcock. In 2009, Leunig created an iGoogle theme. In 2016, '' Metrosideros leunigii'', the oldest described fossil species of the flowering plant genus ''Metrosideros'', was named after Leunig. In 2020, Leunig was the winner of the
Ernie Award Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (b ...
for his cartoon of mothers "being too busy on Instagram". Several Leunig poems have been set to music by composers including
Paul Stanhope Paul Stanhope is an Australian composer, conductor and music educator, known for his choral and instrumental music. Early life and education Stanhope was a student of Andrew Ford, Andrew Schultz and Peter Sculthorpe, and received the Charles ...
, and, for the Song Company, the composers Alice Chance, Drew Crawford, James Wade, Kate Moore, Kate Neal, Katy Abbott, Lachlan Skipworth,
Lyle Chan Lyle Chan is an Australian composer, known for his unique approach of writing cumulative works with only one work per genre. His '' AIDS Memoir Quartet'' chronicles his years as an HIV/AIDS activist at the height of the epidemic in Australia. Joh ...
, Mark Viggiani, Robert Davidson and Ruth McCall.


Personal life and death

Leunig's first marriage, to Pamela Munro, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Helga, in 1992 but they separated in the 2010s. He was together with his last partner, Nicola Dierich, until his death. Leunig had four children. 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.''The Leunig Fragments''
on
ABC iview ABC iview is a video on demand and catch-up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Currently iview video content can only be viewed by users in Australia. As of 2016, ABC iview attracts around 50 million plays monthly and a ...
.
He did not attend his parents' funerals and was not in regular contact with his siblings. Leunig's sister, Mary Leunig, is also an accomplished cartoonist. In December 2019, she accused Leunig of sexually abusing her during childhood in a series of cartoons posted to her Facebook account. Leunig had a studio in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote and a country property in north-east Victoria. Leunig died in Melbourne, in the early hours of 19 December 2024, at the age of 79.


Published works

Collections of press cartoons and original art and/or poems * ''The Penguin Leunig,'' intro.
Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...
(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 by
Helen Garner Helen Garner (née Ford, born 7 November 1942) is an Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garner's debut novel, first novel, ''Monkey Grip (novel), Monkey Grip'', published in 1977, immediately established her ...
(1991, to accompany exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria. (Reprinted as ''The Michael Leunig Collection'' 1994.) * With
Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuits, Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Catholic theology, Cat ...
, ''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) * ''Ducks for Dark Times'' (2017) * ''Get Well'' (2021) * ''Newspaper Poems'' (2024) Multi-decade compilations * ''Poems: 1972-2002'' (2003 hardback) later ''Curly Verse: Selected Poems'' (2010 paperback) * ''The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path'' (2012) * ''Holy Fool: Artworks'' (2014) * ''The Wayward Leunig: Cartoons that Wandered Off'' (2015)


Works in the Australian National Bibliographic database

*
The Animated Leunig
' (videorecording) (c2001) *
A bag of roosters
' / Michael Leunig (1983, ) *
The bedtime Leunig
' / Michael Leunig *1981, *
A bunch of poesy
' / Leunig (1992, ) *
A celebration: Michael Leunig
' / Friends of the National Library of Australia (1997, ) *
A common prayer
' / Leunig (1990, ) *
A common prayer
' / Leunig (1993, ) *
A common prayer : a cartoonist talks to God
' / Leunig (1998, ) *
A conversation between Michael Leunig and Terry Laidler ...
' (1997) *
The curly pyjama letters
' / Michael Leunig (2001, ) *
The curly pyjama letters
' / Michael Leunig (2006, ) *
English in heat
' / Morris Lurie, drawings by Leunig (1972, ) *
Everyday devils and angels
' / Michael Leunig (1992, ) *
Goatperson and other tales
' / Michael Leunig (1999, ) *
The happy prints: printmaking
' / Michael Leunig (1998) *
Introspective
' / Michael Leunig, with foreword by Helen Garner (1988, ) *
Introspective
' / Michael Leunig ; with a foreword by Helen Garner (1991, ) *
Leunig's Carnival of the animals
' / Michael Leunig, Peter Garrett, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (2000, ) *
A new Penguin Leunig
' / Michael Leunig (1992, ) *
A new Penguin Leunig
' / Michael Leunig (2005, ) *
The Penguin Leunig: cartoons
' / by Michael Leunig, introduced by Barry Humphries (1974, ) *
Poems 1972–2002
' / Michael Leunig (2003, ) *
The prayer tree
' / Leunig (1991, ) *
The prayer tree
' / Leunig (1998, ) *
Ramming the shears: a collection of drawings
' / Michael Leunig (1985, ) *
Ramming the shears: a collection of drawings
' / Michael Leunig (1990, ) *
The second Leunig, a dusty little swag: cartoons, a few verses and selected moments from the voyage of Vasco Pyjama
' / by Michael Leunig (1979, ) *
Short notes from the long history of happiness
' / Michael Leunig (1996, ) *
The stick : and other tales of our times
' / Michael Leunig (2002, ) *
The stick : and other tales of our times
' / Michael Leunig (2006, *
Strange creature
' / Michael Leunig (2003, ) *
The travelling Leunig: cartoons
' / by Michael Leunig (1990, ) *
Why dogs sniff each other's tails : an old but true story
' / Michael Leunig (1998, ) *
Wild figments
' / Michael Leunig (2004, ) *
You and me: a collection of recent pictures, verses, fables, aphorisms and songs
' / Michael Leunig (1995, )


References


External links

* * *
"Michael Leunig"
Leunig interviewed by Jane Hutcheon in December 2017 on '' One Plus One'' (ABC TV, 27 mins) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leunig, Michael 1945 births 2024 deaths APRA Award winners Writers from Melbourne Cartoonists from Melbourne The Age (Melbourne) people Newsday people The Sydney Morning Herald people Australian Broadcasting Corporation people Australian people of German descent Australian conscientious objectors Swinburne University of Technology alumni Ducks in literature People from Footscray, Victoria 20th-century Australian artists People educated at Maribyrnong College