View source for Michael Leunig

{{Short description|Australian cartoonist (1945–2024)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Michael Leunig
| image              = Michael Leunig 2012 (cropped).JPG
| caption            = Leunig in 2012
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1945|6|2|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[East Melbourne]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], Australia
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2024|12|19|1945|06|2|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Melbourne]], Victoria, Australia
| alma_mater         = [[Swinburne Film and Television School]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|[[Cartoonist]]|poet|artist}}
| years_active       = 1965–2024
| spouse             = {{Marriage|Pamela Munro|end=div}}<br />{{Marriage|Helga Salwe|1992|2016|separated}}
| children           = 4
| relatives          = [[Mary Leunig]] (sister)
| website            = {{URL|leunig.com.au}}
}}

'''Michael Leunig''' (2 June 1945 – 19 December 2024), typically referred to by his pen name '''Leunig''', was an Australian [[cartoonist]], poet and artist.  He was best known for his work for Melbourne's ''[[The Age]]'' and ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. 

Other works include ''The Curly Pyjama Letters'', cartoon books ''The Essential Leunig'', ''The Wayward Leunig'', ''The Stick'', ''Goatperson'', ''Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness'' and ''Curly Verse'', and ''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 [[National Living Treasure (Australia)|Australian Living Treasure]] by the [[National Trust of Australia]] in 1999.

==Early life and education==
Leunig, a fifth-generation Australian,<ref>{{cite book |author=Creswell |first=Toby |author-link=Toby Creswell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqtinbjO0oEC&q=Michael+Leunig+fifth+generation&pg=PT157 |title=1001 Australians You Should Know |last2=Trenoweth |first2=Samantha |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |isbn=9781864033618 |access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref> was born on 2 June 1945 in [[East Melbourne]], the eldest of five children.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnstone |first=Ian M. |url=https://journals.kvasirpublishing.com/af/article/view/338/388 |title=Leunig: An Appreciation |date=5 November 1991 |publisher=[[University of New England (Australia)|University of New England]] |series=Studies in Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies |volume=24 |pages=198 |format=PDF}}</ref><ref name=abcobit /><ref name=guardianobit>{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Josh |title=Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, dies aged 79 |website=The Guardian |date=19 December 2024 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/19/michael-leunig-australian-cartoonist-dies-aged-79 |access-date=19 December 2024}}</ref> He said he traced his family's ancestry to the [[Harz]], [[Holy Roman Empire]] (now Germany) in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2002 |title=Leunig loses his inspiration - fowl play suspected |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/leunig-loses-his-inspiration-fowl-play-suspected-20021123-gdfusr.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 December 2024 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> He grew up in [[Footscray, Victoria|Footscray]], an inner western suburb of Melbourne, where he went to Footscray North Primary School.<ref name="bio">{{cite web |title=Biography |url=http://www.leunig.com.au/index.php/about/biography |access-date=13 December 2013 |work=Leunig Official Website}}</ref>

He then went to [[Maribyrnong College|Maribyrnong High School]], but as the school had not finished being built, he first had to attend classes held at the nearby [[Melbourne Showgrounds]] in Ascot Vale.<ref name="TAbunghole">{{cite news |author=Leunig |first=Michael |date=9 February 2008 |title=Education and the bunghole of life |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/michael-leunig/education-and-the-bunghole-of-life/2008/02/08/1202234140168.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |access-date=13 December 2013 |newspaper=[[The Age]] |archive-date=9 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309230429/http://www.theage.com.au/news/michael-leunig/education-and-the-bunghole-of-life/2008/02/08/1202234140168.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |url-status=live }}</ref> He failed his final year examinations, twice.<ref name="TAbunghole" />

After working as a labourer in an [[abattoir]],<ref>{{cite news |author=Leunig |first=Michael |date=13 January 2007 |title=Blood and guts, violence and death |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/blood-and-guts-violence-and-death/2007/01/11/1168105114893.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |access-date=13 December 2013 |newspaper=[[The Age]]}}</ref> Leunig enrolled at the [[Swinburne Film and Television School]],<ref name=leunigposter>{{cite web |title=Swinburne School and Television 21 years old, 1986 |quote=Poster to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Swinburne School of Film and Television, 1986. Poster includes cartoon by Swinburne alumnus Michael Leunig. |website=Swinburne Commons |url=https://commons.swinburne.edu.au/items/d42f717b-ebdc-4e33-b764-c2a5f1b912b6/1/ |access-date=8 December 2024 |archive-date=8 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208081528/https://commons.swinburne.edu.au/items/d42f717b-ebdc-4e33-b764-c2a5f1b912b6/1/ |url-status=live }}</ref> where he was at first interested in making documentaries.{{cn|date=December 2024}} 

He was conscripted in the [[Australia in the Vietnam War|Vietnam War call-up]], but he registered as a [[conscientious objector]]; he was rejected on health grounds when it was revealed that he was deaf in one ear.<ref>{{cite news |author=Leunig |first=Michael |date=14 October 2006 |title=Lest we forget |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/lest-we-forget/2006/10/12/1160246257830.html?page=fullpage |access-date=13 December 2013 |newspaper=[[The Age]] |archive-date=24 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124030502/http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/lest-we-forget/2006/10/12/1160246257830.html?page=fullpage |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career==
Leunig began his cartoon career while at Swinburne in 1965<ref>[[Paul Gravett|Gravett, Paul]] (2011). ''1001 Comics You Should Read Before You Die.'' ''Universe Publishing''. [[Rizzoli Libri]].</ref> when his cartoons appeared in the [[Monash University]] student newspaper ''[[Lot's Wife (student newspaper)|Lot's Wife]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Leunig, Michael (1945–)|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-498419|publisher=[[Trove]]|access-date=2 September 2024}}</ref> In the early 1970s his work appeared in the radical/satirical magazines ''[[Nation Review]]'', ''[[The Digger (alternative magazine)|The Digger]]'', and London's ''[[Oz (magazine)|Oz]]'' magazine, as well as mainstream publications including ''[[Newsday]]'' and ''[[Woman's Day]]''.{{cn|date=December 2024}} 

The main outlet for Leunig's work was the daily [[Fairfax Media]] newspapers, Melbourne's ''[[The Age]]'' and ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. The [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] also provided airtime to Leunig to discuss his views on a range of political and philosophical issues.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/listen/search?query=Michael%20Leunig "Michael Leunig at the ABC"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902111551/https://www.abc.net.au/listen/search?query=Michael%20Leunig |date=2 September 2024 }}. [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].</ref>

[[File:Image Credit by Matt Oldfield. An Evening with Michael Leunig, Indus (cropped).jpg|thumb|Leunig in 2013]]

He 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.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Park |first=Andy |author-link=Andy Park (artist) |author2=Leunig |first2=Michael |date=2 September 2024 |title=Michael Leunig fired after 55 years of cartooning |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-drive/michael-leunig-reflects-on-55-years-of-cartooning/104301324 |access-date=2 September 2024 |work=[[RN Drive]] |archive-date=2 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902111547/https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-drive/michael-leunig-reflects-on-55-years-of-cartooning/104301324 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Cartoons==
=== Style and themes ===
Leunig's drawings were done with a sparse and quivering line, usually in black and white with [[ink|ink wash]]; the human characters always 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lotswife.com.au/in-conversation-with-michael-leunig/|access-date=2 September 2024|title=In Conversation with Michael Leunig|work=[[Lot's Wife]]|date=1 October 2012|archive-date=2 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902111548/https://lotswife.com.au/in-conversation-with-michael-leunig/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Leunig frequently satirised concepts such as [[Americanisation]], [[greed]], [[consumerism]], [[corporation]]s and [[war]]mongering, in a personal proclamation against the "[[war on terror]]".{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} Readers and critics took special note of his parodies of political matters, especially those concerning former Australian prime minister [[John Howard]] and former American president [[George W. Bush]]. These earned Leunig a description as a "[[political cartoon]]ist",<ref name="wsws">{{cite web |author=Phillips |first=Richard |date=23 February 2006 |title=Zionists witch-hunt Australia's leading cartoonist |url=http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/02/leun-f23.html |access-date=13 December 2013 |work=World Socialist Web Site}}</ref> although only some of his works were political in nature or reference.

His work also frequently explored spiritual, religious and moral themes.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

From a very early stage in his career, Leunig often included his own handwritten [[poetry]] within his cartoons;<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Leunig|first1=Michael | title=Michael Leunig: poetry in pictures|type=interview conducted by Rory Ewins| journal=[[Togatus]]| date=October 1987 | volume=58 | issue=8 | pages=16–19 | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/39145266 | access-date=27 October 2014 }}</ref> subsequently he also published books of poetry. He was very open about his themes, in interviews about his work.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Michael Leunig, a very unpretentious man|type=interview|magazine=Lot's Wife | date=1991-05-06 | volume=21 (i.e. v.31) | issue=6 | pages=12–14 | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/39102856|via=[[Trove]]| access-date=27 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author1=Leunig |first=Michael |title=Making a cartoon: despair, chaos ... and the clock keeps ticking. - Interview with Michael Leunig by O'Connor, Peter- |date=1995 |journal=Temenos (Canberra) |issue=1 |pages=19–22 |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/39040814 |access-date=27 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Leunig |first1=Michael |date=23 April 2000 |title=A Leunig kind of thing |magazine=[[The Catholic Weekly]] |pages=12–13 |type=interview by Dan McAloon |volume=59 |issue=4008 |issn=0008-8420 |quote=For more than 30 years Michael Leunig has presented his unique cartoon vision of the human condition.}}</ref>

===Characters ===
In the series of cartoons that Leunig created, a number of characters persistently appeared, including:
* The Duck<ref>{{Citation |author1=Croggon |first=Alison |title=My life with a duck. -Cartoonist Michael Leunig- |date=2 April 1991 |journal=Bulletin (Sydney) |pages=98–99 |issn=1440-7485 |author-link=Alison Croggon}}</ref>
* Mr Curly – a contented character who is at ease in the natural world<ref>{{Citation |author1=Holland |first=Angus |title=Mr Curly comes clean. -Inside the Michael Leunig asylum.- |date=21 November 1995 |journal=Sydney Weekly |pages=12–15 |issn=1324-3993}}</ref><ref name="CurlyLetters">{{Cite web |title=The Curly Pyjama Letters by Michael Leunig |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-curly-pyjama-letters-9781760140861 |access-date=6 April 2019 |website=[[Penguin Books]]}}</ref>
*Vasco Pyjama – a restless wanderer who sometimes seeks the counsel of Mr Curly<ref name=CurlyLetters/> 

===Controversial works===
[[File:Michael Leunig.jpg|thumb|Leunig speaks at a demonstration in Melbourne against Israel's military action [[Gaza War (2008–2009)|in the Gaza War]], 2009]]
Leunig's cartoons were occasionally a source of controversy. A colleague referred to his  return to political cartooning in the late 1990s as his [[Electric Dylan controversy|"Bob Dylan goes electric"]] moment.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pavlidis |first=Jim |date=21 January 2024 |title=Whimsy, wisdom guided Leunig's pen |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/behind-the-whimsy-leunig-was-brave-supportive-and-always-up-for-a-natter-20241220-p5kzvt.html |access-date=21 December 2024 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |pages=35}}</ref> In 2008, he wrote "Artists must never shrink from a confrontation with society or the state."<ref>{{cite news |author=Leunig |first=Michael |date=7 June 2008 |title=Art from the heart |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/michael-leunig/art-from-the-heart/2008/06/05/1212259005269.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |access-date=13 December 2013 |newspaper=[[The Age]]}}</ref>

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".<ref name="wsws" />

In 2006, [[Fairfax Media]] partially censored a Leunig cartoon criticising the then prime minister, [[John Howard]]; the cartoon was published in [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] but not in [[New South Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Leunig and Good Taste|url=http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1650231.htm|work=[[Media Watch (TV program)|Media Watch]]|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|access-date=13 December 2013|date=29 May 2006|archive-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601155523/http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1650231.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Leunig stated his opposition to the [[Cabinet of Israel|Israeli government]]. Three of his cartoons between 2004 and 2006 drew letters of protest nationally and internationally.{{cn|date=December 2024}} 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".<ref name="wsws" />

Another supposed Leunig cartoon came to international attention after it was entered in an [[International Holocaust Cartoon Competition|Iranian competition]] conceived by the newspaper ''[[Hamshahri]]'' as retaliation for the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Muhammad cartoons controversy]]. Leunig denied he had submitted the cartoon,<ref name="BBChoax">{{cite news|title=Australian in Iran cartoon 'hoax'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4711504.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=13 December 2013|date=14 February 2006|archive-date=15 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215054450/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4711504.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> and demanded that it be withdrawn, which it was.<ref name="BBChoax" /> It later emerged that the cartoon had been submitted as a prank by Richard Cooke, a contributor to the Australian comedic team ''[[The Chaser (newspaper)|The Chaser]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chaser behind Leunig stunt |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/chaser-behind-leunig-stunt/2006/02/15/1139890807095.html|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=13 December 2013|first=Justin | last=Norrie|date=16 February 2006}}</ref>

In November 2018, Leunig's 30-year association with the [[Melbourne International Comedy Festival|Melbourne Comedy Festival]] came to an end, after artists expressed concerns about being associated with Leunig's [[Anti-vaccine activism|anti-vaccination]] views, and opposition to the [[Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey|marriage equality plebiscite]]. Leunig had designed the logo for the festival each year since 1988.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Melbourne Comedy Festival Has Quietly Binned Anti-Vax Lunatic Leunig|url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/melbourne-comedy-festival-bins-leunig/|work=[[Pedestrian (company)|Pedestrian.tv]]|access-date=5 June 2024|first=Cam|last=Tyeson|date=9 November 2018|archive-date=5 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605095329/https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/melbourne-comedy-festival-bins-leunig/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2021, Leunig's cartoon contributions for the editorial page in the Monday edition of ''[[The Age]]'' were ended following the paper's rejection for publication of a cartoon he had drawn in response to [[COVID-19 vaccination in Australia|COVID-19 vaccination requirements in Australia]].<ref>Graham, Ben (25 October 2021). [https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/cartoonist-michael-leunig-axed-from-prime-spot-at-the-age-over-offensive-vaccine-image/news-story/3b6b99a4101ebe53df58cb21827df0d4 "Cartoonist Michael Leunig axed from prime spot at ''The Age'' over anti-Dan Andrews image"]. [[news.com.au]].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 September 2021 |title=People Are Roasting Leunig's Awful Comparison Of The Anti-Vax Movement To Tiananmen Square |url=https://junkee.com/leunig-vaccination-tiananmen-square/310007 |access-date=28 September 2021 |website=[[Junkee]]}}</ref> The cartoon compared resistance to vaccine requirements to the [[Tank Man]] in [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|Tiananmen Square]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chang |first=Charis |date=27 September 2021 |title='Offensive' Leunig anti-vax cartoon slammed |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/offensive-leunig-cartoon-on-mandatory-vaccination-slammed/news-story/da5847d5b2de9cd1cb72715e5934f077 |access-date=28 September 2021 |work=[[news.com.au]] |archive-date=28 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928065814/https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/offensive-leunig-cartoon-on-mandatory-vaccination-slammed/news-story/da5847d5b2de9cd1cb72715e5934f077 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Recognition and other activities==
<!-- Possible additions:
* Cartoon-based stage show (in Melbourne, or at Sydney Opera House?) in 1990s
* Commemorative postage stamps issued by Australia Post
 -->
In 1986, Leunig decorated a [[Trams in Melbourne|Melbourne tram]] with  cartoon characters, sponsored by the [[Victoria State Government|Victorian Government]].<ref>{{cite web |date=19 December 2024 |title=Michael Leunig |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/public-record-office-victoria/albums/72157648293129981/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219121257/https://www.flickr.com/photos/public-record-office-victoria/albums/72157648293129981/ |archive-date=19 December 2024 |access-date=19 December 2024 |website=[[Flickr]]}}</ref>
 
In 1999, Leunig was declared an [[National Living Treasure (Australia)|Australian Living Treasure]] by the [[National Trust of Australia]].<ref name=abcobit>{{cite web |title=Australian cartoonist and poet Michael Leunig dies aged 79 |website=ABC News |date=19 December 2024 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-19/australian-cartoonist-michael-leunig-dies/104748614 |access-date=19 December 2024}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140919173538/http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/nsw/NationalLivingTreasures National Living Treasures – Current List, Deceased, Formerly Listed]. [[National Trust of Australia]]. 22 August 2014.</ref>  

In 2006, Australian musician [[Gyan Evans]] released the album ''[[Billy the Rabbit]]'', based on the poetry of Leunig. Gyan and Leunig launched the album at the [[Melbourne Writers Festival]], with Leunig illustrating during Gyan's singing. They also performed together at the [[Byron Writers Festival]] and the [[Sydney Opera House]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gyan and Mr Curly |url=http://echo.net.au/archives/19_10/pdf/p22.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831065850/http://echo.net.au/archives/19_10/pdf/p22.pdf |archive-date=31 August 2006 |access-date=13 December 2013 |work=[[Byron Shire Echo]] |page=2}}</ref>

Leunig performed at the [[2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony|opening ceremony]] of the [[2006 Commonwealth Games|2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games]], wearing a duck costume.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 March 2006 |title=Games opening ceremony passes test |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/games-opening-ceremony-passes-test-20060316-gdn5xr.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 December 2024 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> That same year, for his work on ''Southern Star'', Leunig was co-recipient of the [[APRA Music Awards of 2006|2006 APRA Music Award]] together with [[Christopher Willcock]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2006 Winners |url=http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/ClassicalAwards/History/2006Winners.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825193458/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au:80/APRAAwards/ClassicalAwards/History/2006Winners.aspx |archive-date=25 August 2010 |access-date=19 December 2024 |website=[[APRA AMCOS]]}}</ref> 

In 2009, he created an [[iGoogle#Themes|iGoogle theme]].<ref>{{cite web|title=iGoogle Artist Themes – Michael Leunig |url=http://www.google.com.au/help/ig/art/artists/leunig.html|access-date=13 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090430062832/http://www.google.com.au:80/help/ig/art/artists/leunig.html |archive-date= 30 April 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[File:Michael Leunig 2017.jpg|thumb|Leunig's appearance on the Portrait Story series of the [[National Portrait Gallery (Australia)|National Portrait Gallery, Australia]], 2017]]

In 2016, ''[[Metrosideros leunigii]]'', the oldest described fossil species of the flowering plant genus ''Metrosideros'', was named after Leunig.<ref>"{{cite journal |last1=Tarran |first1=Myall |last2=Wilson |first2=Peter |last3=Hill |first3=Robert |author-link3=Robert Hill (botanist) |date=April 2016 |title=Oldest record of ''Metrosideros'' (Myrtaceae): Fossil flowers, fruits, and leaves from Australia |journal=[[American Journal of Botany]] |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=754–768 |doi=10.3732/ajb.1500469 |pmid=27056926 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

In 2020, Leunig was the winner of the [[Ernie Awards|Ernie Award]] for his cartoon of mothers "being too busy on Instagram".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhou |first=Naaman |date=1 October 2020 |title=Ernie awards 2020: travel boss gets Gold Ernie for sexist remarks about Tracy Grimshaw |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/oct/01/ernie-awards-2020-travel-boss-gets-gold-ernie-for-sexist-remarks-about-tracy-grimshaw |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Several Leunig poems have been set to music by composers including [[Paul Stanhope]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Michael Leunig |url=https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/artist/leunig-michael |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=Australian Music Centre}}</ref> and, for the Song Company, the composers Alice Chance, Drew Crawford, James Wade, [[Kate Moore (composer)|Kate Moore]], Kate Neal, [[Katy Abbott]], [[Lachlan Skipworth]], [[Lyle Chan]], Mark Viggiani, [[Robert Davidson (composer)|Robert Davidson]] and Ruth McCall.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2015-09-25 |title=The Song Company Presents The all-Leunig Song Almanac |url=https://www.soundslikesydney.com.au/the-song-company-presents-the-all-leunig-song-almanac/ |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=Sounds Like Sydney |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

==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.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments"/> Leunig had four children.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Rewind|journal=Sunday Life Magazine the Sunday Age|date=16 December 2007|page=54}}</ref> 

A documentary film about his life by Kasimir Burgess, ''The Leunig Fragments'', was released in 2020 and revealed various difficulties that Leunig experienced with family relationships.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments">[https://iview.abc.net.au/show/leunig-fragments ''The Leunig Fragments''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511034005/https://iview.abc.net.au/show/leunig-fragments |date=11 May 2020 }} on [[ABC iview]].</ref> He did not attend his parents' funerals<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/13/the-leunig-fragments-review-portrait-of-the-cartoonist-is-a-quasi-poetic-cop-out The Leunig Fragments review]. The Guardian. 13 February 2020.</ref> and was not in regular contact with his siblings.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments"/>

His sister, [[Mary Leunig]], is also an accomplished cartoonist.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.maryleunig.com/ |access-date=13 December 2013 |work=Mary Leunig Official Website |archive-date=13 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213144231/http://www.maryleunig.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2019, she accused Leunig of sexually abusing her during childhood in a series of cartoons posted to her Facebook account.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sandford |first1=Shannon |date=30 June 2020 |title=‘It’s Not Brave, It’s Easy’: Visualising Trauma in the Webcomics of Mary Leunig |url=https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/activities/its-not-brave-its-easy-visualising-trauma-in-the-webcomics-of-mar |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211183544/https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/activities/its-not-brave-its-easy-visualising-trauma-in-the-webcomics-of-mar |archive-date=11 December 2023 |access-date=20 December 2024 |publisher=[[Flinders University]]}}</ref>

As of 2020, he had a studio in [[Northcote, Victoria|Northcote]], Melbourne, and a property in north-east Victoria.<ref name="The Leunig Fragments"/>

Leunig died in Melbourne, in the early hours of 19 December 2024, at the age of 79.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/celebrated-cartoonist-michael-leunig-dies-aged-79-20241219-p5kztw.html|last=Abbott|first=Lachlan|title=Celebrated cartoonist Michael Leunig dies aged 79|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=19 December 2024|access-date=19 December 2024|archive-date=19 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219110152/https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/celebrated-cartoonist-michael-leunig-dies-aged-79-20241219-p5kztw.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hopman |first=Sally |date=20 December 2024 |title=The day Leunig's pen ran dry |url=https://the-riotact.com/the-day-leunigs-pen-ran-dry/836136 |access-date=20 December 2024 |website=Riotact}}</ref>

==Published works==
'''Collections of press cartoons and original art and/or poems'''
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* ''The Penguin Leunig,'' intro. [[Barry Humphries]] (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]] (1991, to accompany exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria. (Reprinted as ''The Michael Leunig Collection'' 1994.)
* With [[Karl Rahner]], ''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)
* ''Kicking Behinds'' (2003)
* ''Strange Creature'' (2003)
* ''Wild Figments'' (2004)
* ''A New Penguin Leunig'' (2005)
* ''Hot ... and Bothered'' (2007)
* ''The Lot: in Words'' (2008)
* ''When I Talk to You'' (2014)
* ''Musings from the Inner Duck'' (2015)
* ''Ducks for Dark Times'' (2017)
{{div col end}}
'''Multi-decade compilations'''

{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* ''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)
{{div col end}}

===Works in the Australian National Bibliographic database===
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an23783574 The Animated Leunig]'' (videorecording) (c2001)
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an2891527 A bag of roosters]'' / Michael Leunig (1983, {{ISBN|0-207-14830-9}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an2125603 The bedtime Leunig]'' / Michael Leunig *1981, {{ISBN|0207145059}}
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an9071482 A bunch of poesy]'' / Leunig (1992, {{ISBN|0-207-17798-8}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an13358327 A celebration: Michael Leunig]'' / Friends of the National Library of Australia (1997, {{ISBN|0-646-33090-X}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an7560581 A common prayer]'' / Leunig (1990, {{ISBN|0-85924-933-6}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an10236946 A common prayer]'' / Leunig (1993, {{ISBN|1-86371-231-3}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an13773153 A common prayer : a cartoonist talks to God]'' / Leunig (1998, {{ISBN|1-86371-740-4}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an000013292131 A conversation between Michael Leunig and Terry Laidler ...]'' (1997)
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an22919492 The curly pyjama letters]'' / Michael Leunig (2001, {{ISBN|0-670-04023-1}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an40223563 The curly pyjama letters]'' / Michael Leunig (2006, {{ISBN|978-0-14-300546-9}} )
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an407195 English in heat]'' / Morris Lurie, drawings by Leunig (1972, {{ISBN|0-207-12384-5}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an9219340 Everyday devils and angels]'' / Michael Leunig (1992, {{ISBN|0-14-015911-8}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an20766053 Goatperson and other tales]'' / Michael Leunig (1999, {{ISBN|0-14-029140-7}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an21507080 The happy prints: printmaking]'' / Michael Leunig (1998)
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an13729054 Introspective]'' / Michael Leunig, with foreword by Helen Garner (1988, {{ISBN|1-86436-356-8}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an7835901 Introspective]'' / Michael Leunig ; with a foreword by Helen Garner (1991, {{ISBN|1-86372-200-9}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an21725271 Leunig's Carnival of the animals]'' / Michael Leunig, Peter Garrett, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (2000, {{ISBN|0-7329-1070-6}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an8958978 A new Penguin Leunig]'' / Michael Leunig (1992, {{ISBN|0-14-017097-9}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an27542136 A new Penguin Leunig]'' / Michael Leunig (2005, {{ISBN|0-14-300480-8}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/nanbd.bib-an276590 The Penguin Leunig: cartoons]'' / by Michael Leunig, introduced by Barry Humphries (1974, {{ISBN|0-14-004019-6}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-an24497277 Poems 1972–2002]'' / Michael Leunig (2003, {{ISBN|0-670-04091-6}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an8174418 The prayer tree]'' / Leunig (1991, {{ISBN|1-86371-034-5}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an13773115 The prayer tree]'' / Leunig (1998, {{ISBN|1-86371-741-2}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an3930752 Ramming the shears: a collection of drawings]'' / Michael Leunig (1985, {{ISBN|0-949266-13-2}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an8131267 Ramming the shears: a collection of drawings]'' / Michael Leunig (1990, {{ISBN|0-14-015801-4}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an1655997 The second Leunig, a dusty little swag: cartoons, a few verses and selected moments from the voyage of Vasco Pyjama]'' / by Michael Leunig (1979, {{ISBN|0-207-14328-5}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an12657189 Short notes from the long history of happiness]'' / Michael Leunig (1996, {{ISBN|0-670-87405-1}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an24071277 The stick : and other tales of our times]'' / Michael Leunig (2002, {{ISBN|0-670-04048-7}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an40205988 The stick : and other tales of our times]'' / Michael Leunig (2006, {{ISBN|978-0-14-300146-1}}
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd-bib.an24950370 Strange creature]'' / Michael Leunig (2003, {{ISBN|0-670-04136-X}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an7663976 The travelling Leunig: cartoons]'' / by Michael Leunig (1990, {{ISBN|0-14-014867-1}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an13881682 Why dogs sniff each other's tails : an old but true story]'' / Michael Leunig (1998, {{ISBN|0-670-88354-9}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an26237583 Wild figments]'' / Michael Leunig (2004, {{ISBN|0-14-300353-4}})
* ''[http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an11719172 You and me: a collection of recent pictures, verses, fables, aphorisms and songs]'' / Michael Leunig (1995, {{ISBN|0-14-025461-7}})
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooks=no|onlinebooksby=no}}
*{{Official website|https://www.leunig.com.au/}}
* {{imdb name|1248600}}
* {{discogs artist|Michael Leunig}}
* [https://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/one-plus-one/2017-12-21/one-plus-one:-michael-leunig/9280540 "Michael Leunig"]. Leunig interviewed by Jane Hutcheon in December 2017 on ''[[One Plus One (TV program)|One Plus One]]'' (ABC TV, 27 mins) 

{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leunig, Michael}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:APRA Award winners]]
[[Category:Writers from Melbourne]]
[[Category:Cartoonists from Melbourne]]
[[Category:The Age (Melbourne) people]]
[[Category:Newsday people]]
[[Category:The Sydney Morning Herald people]]
[[Category:Australian Broadcasting Corporation people]]
[[Category:Australian people of German descent]]
[[Category:Australian conscientious objectors]]
[[Category:Australian cartooning]]
[[Category:Swinburne University of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Ducks in literature]]
[[Category:People from Footscray, Victoria]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian artists]]
[[Category:People educated at Maribyrnong College]]