Michael Leunig

Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig
Born	2 June 1945 (age 81); East Melbourne, Australia
Died	19 December 2024 (aged 79)
Occupation(s)	Cartoonist, poet, visual artist
Years active	1965–2024
Known for	Cartoons in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald; poetry collections; Australian Living Treasure

Michael Leunig (2 June 1945 – 19 December 2024), widely recognized by his pen name Leunig, was a distinguished Australian cartoonist, poet, and visual artist, celebrated for his contributions to Melbourne’s The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Among his prominent works are The Curly Pyjama Letters and various cartoon anthologies including The Essential Leunig, The Wayward Leunig, The Stick, Goatperson, Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness, and Curly Verse. He also authored a series of prayer books such as A Common Prayer, The Prayer Tree, and When I Talk To You, while his "Curly World" columns were collected in the volume titled The Lot.

In 1999, Leunig was honored as an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia.

Early life and education

Leunig was born on 2 June 1945 in East Melbourne as the oldest child among five siblings in a family with Australian roots extending back five generations, originally from 16th-century Germany. He grew up in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, attending Footscray North Primary School followed by Maribyrnong High School, where classes were temporarily held at the Melbourne Showgrounds due to construction delays. He did not pass his final year exams on two occasions.

Following a period working as an abattoir labourer, Leunig enrolled at Swinburne Film and Television School, initially pursuing documentary filmmaking. During the Vietnam War draft, he declared himself a conscientious objector but was exempted on medical grounds because of deafness in one ear.

Career

Leunig’s cartooning career commenced in 1965 while he was a student at Swinburne, with his early drawings appearing in the Monash University student paper Lot's Wife. Throughout the 1970s, his cartoons featured in various radical and satirical publications such as Nation Review, The Digger, and London’s Oz, as well as mainstream magazines like Newsday and Woman's Day.

His principal exposure came through Fairfax Media’s daily newspapers, notably Melbourne’s The Age and Sydney’s The Sydney Morning Herald. Additionally, he appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to discuss political and philosophical topics.

Up until August 2024, Leunig regularly contributed cartoons to the Saturday editions of both The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, before being let go as part of broader cost-reduction efforts affecting numerous staff members.

Style and themes

Leunig’s artwork is characterized by minimalistic, trembling black-and-white lines with human figures often depicted with exaggerated noses. This distinctive style quickly cultivated a devoted following appreciative of his eccentric social observations. His cartoons frequently portrayed a whimsical fantasy realm inhabited by tiny characters balancing teapots atop their heads, figures with grotesquely curled hair, and ducks.

His satire commonly targeted themes such as American cultural influence, materialism, corporate greed, and militarism, offering pointed critiques of figures like former Australian prime minister John Howard and U.S. president George W. Bush. Although sometimes categorized as a political cartoonist, much of Leunig’s work also explores spiritual, religious, and ethical dimensions.

From early in his career, handwritten poetry was integrated into his cartoons; he later published collections of poetry and openly addressed these subjects during interviews throughout his professional life.

Characters

Leunig's illustrations often showcase a set of recurring figures, such as:

The Duck
Mr Curly – a serene character who harmonizes with the natural world
Vasco Pyjama – an uneasy traveler who occasionally turns to Mr Curly for guidance

Controversial works

Leunig's political cartoons, particularly from the late 1990s onward, have at times provoked debate. In 2008, he asserted that "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state," highlighting his commitment to provocative art.

He was critical of the 2003 Iraq invasion and condemned fellow cartoonists who supported official government narratives. In 2006, Fairfax Media partially censored one of his cartoons targeting then-Prime Minister John Howard, choosing to publish it in Victoria but withholding it from New South Wales audiences.

Between 2004 and 2006, Leunig openly condemned Israeli government policies, which led to protests both domestically and internationally. He characterized Israel’s approach to Palestine as "gravely mishandled" and defended his freedom to voice these criticisms.

A cartoon falsely attributed to Leunig appeared in an Iranian Holocaust cartoon contest; he denied any involvement and called for its removal. It was later uncovered that the entry was a hoax orchestrated by an Australian comedy writer.

In November 2018, after three decades of collaboration, Leunig's relationship with the Melbourne Comedy Festival ended due to concerns over his anti-vaccination views and opposition to marriage equality. He had been responsible for designing the festival's logo every year since 1988.

In September 2021, The Age discontinued publishing Leunig’s Monday editorial cartoons following their rejection of a piece addressing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The contentious cartoon likened vaccine opposition to the Tank Man at Tiananmen Square, which attracted significant backlash.

Recognition and other activities

In 1986, Leunig adorned a Melbourne tram with his cartoon characters, a project supported by the Victorian Government.

The National Trust of Australia honored him as a National Living Treasure in 1999.

Australian musician Gyan Evans released the album Billy the Rabbit in 2006, inspired by Leunig's poetry. The album was launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival, with Leunig providing live illustrations during appearances at both the Byron Writers Festival and the Sydney Opera House.

Leunig appeared in a duck costume during the opening ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. That same year, he shared the 2006 APRA Music Award for his contribution to Southern Star alongside Christopher Willcock.

In 2009, he designed an iGoogle theme.

In 2016, Metrosideros leunigii, recognized as the oldest known fossil species within the flowering plant genus Metrosideros, was named in his honor.

Leunig received the Ernie Award in 2020 for a cartoon portraying mothers as "too busy on Instagram."

Numerous composers have set Leunig’s poems to music, including Paul Stanhope, and for the Song Company by Alice Chance, Drew Crawford, James Wade, Kate Moore, Kate Neal, Katy Abbott, Lachlan Skipworth, Lyle Chan, Mark Viggiani, Robert Davidson, and Ruth McCall.

Personal life and death

Leunig's initial marriage to Pamela Munro concluded in divorce. In 1992, he wed Helga; the couple parted ways during the 2010s. His last known partner was Nicola Dierich. He was a father to four children.

The 2020 film The Leunig Fragments, directed by Kasimir Burgess, explored the difficulties within his familial relationships. Notably, he was absent from his parents' funeral services and maintained minimal contact with his siblings.

His sister, Mary Leunig, is also recognized as a cartoonist. In December 2019, she publicly alleged childhood sexual abuse by him through a series of her cartoons.

Leunig operated a studio located in Northcote, a suburb of Melbourne, and possessed a rural property in north-east Victoria.

He passed away in Melbourne on 19 December 2024 at the age of 79.

Published works

Anthologies of cartoons, original artworks, and poetry

The Penguin Leunig, introduction by Barry Humphries (1974; reissued for its 40th anniversary in 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, with foreword by Helen Garner (1991; republished as The Michael Leunig Collection in 1994)
In collaboration with Karl Rahner, A Common Philosophy, edited by 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" (published by 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)

Compilations spanning multiple decades

Poems: 1972-2002 hardcover edition (2003), later issued as the paperback Curly Verse: Selected Poems (2010)
The Essential Leunig: Cartoons from a Winding Path (2012)
Holy Fool: Artworks (2014)
The Wayward Leunig: Cartoons that Wandered Off (2015)

Selected works listed in the Australian National Bibliographic database

Highlighted key publications include:

The Animated Leunig (video recording) (~2001)
A Bag of Roosters by Michael Leunig (1983)
The Bedtime Leunig by Michael Leunig (1981)
A Bunch of Poesy, authored by Leunig (1992)
Multiple editions of A Common Prayer, authored by Leunig (1990, 1993, 1998)
The Curly Pyjama Letters, Michael Leunig's work with editions from 2001 and 2006
Illustrations by Leunig for Morris Lurie's book, English in Heat (1972)
Michael Leunig's book, Everyday Devils and Angels (1992)
The collection titled Goatperson and Other Tales, authored by Michael Leunig (1999)
Printmaking portfolio: The Happy Prints, created by Michael Leunig (1998)
Exhibition catalogue titled Introspective, featuring a foreword by Helen Garner (1988, 1991)
Collaborative project: Leunig's Carnival of the Animals, created with Peter Garrett, Richard Tognetti, ACO members (2000)
Various editions of Penguin collections and poetry anthologies published between 1974 and 2010

External links

"Michael Leunig". A December 2017 interview conducted by Jane Hutcheon featured on One Plus One (ABC TV, 27 minutes)