Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, dies aged 79

During his final days the artist was surrounded by his children, loved ones, classical music and sunflowers, his studio says on social media.

Michael Leunig drew cartoons for the Age newspaper from 1969 until August this year.
Photo: ABC Screenshot

The Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig has died aged 79, his studio has announced on Instagram.

“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,” Thursday night’s post read.

“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.”

Leunig was born in east Melbourne in June 1945. He said his political consciousness intensified when he received a notice for military conscription in 1965 during the Vietnam war. He was rejected for service due to being deaf in one ear.

Leunig began drawing cartoons for the Age in 1969. The newspaper ended his contract in August this year, after 55 years.

In 1999 Leunig was declared a national living treasure by the National Trust for his contributions to Australian culture.

In recent years, Leunig’s views critical of “no jab, no play” policies for vaccination, that were sometimes apparent in his cartoons published in the Age, drew controversy, while a cartoon depicting a young mother as “too busy on Instagram” to look after her child brought a rebuke from his sister, Mary.

His parting of ways with the publication was a bitter one, with the cartoonist telling the Australian: “It’s almost embarrassing now to say that I worked for the Age, it’s become like a tacky tabloid.”

Leunig said on his blog that although the end of his contract would require him to tighten his belt, he was looking forward to the next chapter.

“I have been refreshed and granted a precious new chapter of life in which to plant trees, to paint pictures, to talk to the birds and kangaroos, to harvest my own vegetables and avocados, to appreciate all those who have helped and encouraged me, to be with friends and loved ones, to get on with the memoir and various projects; to be surprised and changed, to be grateful, to listen to music and birdsong, to grow, to wonder, to die … and of course, to be a funny old grandfather in the garden.”

His last cartoon was published on his website at the end of August.

First published at The Guardian, December 20, 2024