Celebrated cartoonist Michael Leunig dies aged 79
Celebrated cartoonist Michael Leunig, a long-time contributor to this masthead, has died, a post on his official social media account confirmed by a close associate said. He was 79.
“The pen has run dry, its ink no longer flowing — yet Mr Curly and his ducks will remain etched in our hearts, cherished and eternal,” the post on Leunig’s Instagram account said.
“Michael Leunig passed away peacefully today, in the early hours of December 19, 2024. During his final days, he was surrounded by his children, loved ones, and sunflowers — accompanied as ever, by his dear old friends, Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.”
Since his first cartoon for The Age in September 1969, Leunig’s artwork has gained broad acclaim. It remained popular with readers until his final cartoon in The Age’s Spectrum section this year.
“Leunig was a master of his craft and a near-permanent fixture on the fridge doors and dining tables of the nation,” Age editor Patrick Elligett said on Thursday night. “His passing will be mourned by millions, and felt acutely by readers of The Age, who for 55 years had the privilege of enjoying his work and wit.
Michael Leunig photographed in 2014.Credit: Jay Cronan
“We are thinking of his friends and family at this difficult time. Farewell, Michael.”
When he left this masthead in August, Age Spectrum editor Lindy Percival wrote: “Through Leunig’s work, we have contemplated life’s beautiful and occasionally baffling moments: Mr Curly arriving home to his curly-headed family; a simple soul dreaming of floating coloured petals; and a father and son watching the sun set on TV, oblivious to the real thing happening outside their window.
“All the while, his angels have looked on – often in sorrow, sometimes in anger, but always with love.”
The National Trust named Leunig as one of Australia’s 100 living treasures in 1992, alongside the likes of Sir Donald Bradman and Slim Dusty.
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Leunig described his cartoons as regressive, humorous, messy, mystical, primal and vaudevillian.
Born in East Melbourne on June 2, 1945, as the second eldest of five children, he went to school at Footscray North Primary School and Maribyrnong High School.
On his website, he described the likes of Enid Blyton and the Beatles as early creative influences, before “his political consciousness intensified radically” when he was conscripted to serve in Vietnam. Due to total deafness in one ear, he was ultimately knocked back from military service. He worked in an abattoir and factories before beginning work as a political cartoonist in 1969.
In a 1998 Good Weekend feature, his works were described as poignant, often controversial and ones that “rarely fail to touch a chord”.
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