Friday, February 7, 2025
33.9 C
Canberra

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

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.

Allow Instagram content?

This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.

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.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Hot this week

Domino’s to shut more than 200 stores globally

has announced it will be closing more than...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promises $842 million cash injection for the Northern Territory

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made a landmark funding...

NSW doctors embrace ‘marshmellow’ moniker to highlight ‘catastrophic situation’ in public hospitals

Union says viral email stuff-up downplaying junior doctors’...

Why claims about referee favouritism are overshadowing the Super Bowl

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have been...

Topics

spot_img

Related Articles