Bill Leak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bill Leak
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Leak in August 2011
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Desmond Robert Leak
9 January 1956 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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| Died | 10 March 2017 (aged 61) Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
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| Known for |
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| Partner(s) | Lo Mong Lau (unknown–2017; his death) |
Desmond Robert "Bill" Leak (9 January 1956 – 10 March 2017) was a well-known Australian artist. He was famous for his editorial cartoons, which are drawings that share opinions about news and politics. He also drew caricatures (funny portraits) and painted serious portraits of people.
Bill Leak grew up in places like Condobolin and Beacon Hill in Sydney. He studied art at the Julian Ashton Art School in the 1970s. His first cartoons were published in 1983 in The Bulletin. Later, he drew for The Sydney Morning Herald and then for The Daily Telegraph-Mirror and The Australian. Many people, including journalist Peter FitzSimons, said he was a very talented and passionate artist.
Leak also entered his paintings into the famous Archibald Prize many times. He won the People's Choice Award in 1994 for his portrait of Malcolm Turnbull. He also won the Packing Room Prize twice, in 1997 and 2000. These awards were for his portraits of singer Tex Perkins and comedian Sir Les Patterson. Bill Leak also wrote a novel called Heart Cancer in 2005. In 2008, ABC TV showed his six-part series called Face Painting.
Some of Bill Leak's editorial cartoons for The Australian caused a lot of discussion. These included cartoons about a refugee situation in 2006 and a series featuring Kevin Rudd as Tintin in 2007. Other cartoons that sparked debate were one in 2015 about people in India and two in 2016 about Aboriginal families and same-sex marriage.
Contents
Bill Leak's Early Life and Art Journey
Bill Leak was born in Adelaide on 9 January 1956. He was the second of three children. His family lived in Condobolin until 1967, then moved to Beacon Hill. He went to Beacon Hill High School and Forest High School. He even had to change schools because he drew funny pictures of his teachers!
After high school, Leak studied art at the Julian Ashton Art School from 1974 to 1975. He also worked as a postman for a while. In the late 1970s, Bill traveled to Europe to see famous art. In 1978, he was very impressed by an exhibition of paintings by Paul Cézanne in Paris. While in Salzburg that same year, he met Astrid, and they got married. They lived in Bavaria until 1982, when they moved back to Australia.
Leak started drawing cartoons professionally in 1983. His first cartoons were for The Bulletin. After that, he worked for The Sydney Morning Herald.
Working for News Limited Newspapers
In 1994, Bill Leak left The Sydney Morning Herald. He started working for The Daily Telegraph-Mirror, which is a newspaper owned by News Limited. Later, he moved to The Australian, another News Limited newspaper.
In 2007, a company that owned the rights to the cartoon character Tintin contacted Leak. This was because he had drawn Kevin Rudd, who was the leader of the opposition at the time, as Tintin. The issue was resolved when Leak agreed not to make money from selling these specific cartoons.
Cartoons That Sparked Discussion
A cartoon by Leak was published in The Australian in December 2015. It showed Indian villagers trying to eat solar panels. This cartoon was Leak's comment on a climate change meeting. Some people, like Professor Amanda Wise, said the cartoon was racist. Many people on social media agreed and criticized the cartoon.
However, the Australian Press Council looked into a complaint about the cartoon. They decided that the cartoon did not break any rules. They said it used exaggeration and humor to make a point. The council felt it was making fun of the idea of giving solar panels instead of more helpful aid.
In August 2016, another cartoon by Leak in The Australian caused a lot of discussion. It showed an Aboriginal policeman talking to a teenage boy's father. The cartoon was published on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day. Some leaders, like Muriel Bamblett and Roy Ah-See, called the cartoon racist.
However, others, like Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan, defended the cartoon. They said it showed real issues in some communities. Bill Leak himself said the cartoon was not racist. He explained that if the characters were white, no one would have accused him of stereotyping all white parents. A complaint about this cartoon was later withdrawn.
Bill Leak and the Archibald Prize
In 1984, Bill Leak first entered the Archibald Prize. This is a famous competition for portrait paintings in Australia. After that first time, he said he would never enter again. But he changed his mind in 1989 and entered a portrait of the famous cricketer Don Bradman. This painting was chosen as one of the 24 finalists that year.
He entered portraits of many well-known people:
- Malcolm Turnbull in 1994
- Graham Richardson in 1995
- Tex Perkins in 1997
- Gough Whitlam in 1998
- Sir Les Patterson in 2000
- Robert Hughes in 2001
Leak won the Packing Room Prize twice, for his portraits of Tex Perkins and Sir Les Patterson. He also won the People's Choice Award for his portrait of Malcolm Turnbull. Other artists also painted Bill Leak for the Archibald Prize.
Many art experts believed Bill Leak was one of the best painters who never won the main Archibald Prize.
Health and Passing
On 18 October 2008, Bill Leak had a serious accident. He fell off a balcony while trying to feed some birds. He had to have brain surgery and was in a serious condition. His family, including his partner Lo Mong Lau and his son Johannes, were by his side. Even though things looked bad at first, he recovered well.
Bill Leak passed away on 10 March 2017, at the age of 61. He died in hospital after what was thought to be a heart attack.
Awards and Recognition
Bill Leak won many awards for his amazing work. He won nine Walkley Awards, which are very important awards for journalists in Australia:
- 1987 – For best illustration
- 1989 – For best illustration
- 1990 – For best illustration
- 1992 – For best illustration
- 1993 – For best cartoon
- 1995 – For best cartoon, "And that's the Truth"
- 1996 – For best cartoon, "It's our ABC"
- 1997 – For his artwork "The Big Picture"
- 2002 – For his cartoon "Brown Nose Day"
He also received 20 Stanley Awards between 1987 and 1998. These included twelve category awards and eight gold awards for Cartoonist of the Year. News Corp also named him their best cartoonist of the year twice, in 2015 and 2016.
Books and TV Shows
Books Published by Bill Leak
In 2005, Bill Leak's first novel, Heart Cancer, was published by ABC Books.
He also released four books that collected his political cartoons.
=Face Painting TV Series
In November 2008, Bill Leak's TV series called Face Painting aired on ABC TV. In this show, he painted portraits of people who had passed away. Some of the people he painted for the show included Australian actor June Salter, musician Bon Scott, and Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins.
