Jon Kudelka, the acclaimed Australian political cartoonist, has died at the age of 53. His wife, Margaret Kudelka, announced the news in a statement on Monday, saying he died peacefully in South Hobart on Sunday afternoon, surrounded by family and friends.
Kudelka’s work appeared regularly in the Saturday Paper and the Hobart Mercury, where he began as a cartoonist in 1993. He was born in Burnie, Tasmania, in 1972 and sold his first cartoon at the age of nine. Over more than 30 years, he produced some 10,000 published political cartoons.
The artist won Walkley awards for best cartoon in 2008 and 2018, and was named the Museum of Australian Democracy’s political cartoonist of the year in 2010 and 2019. His 2018 Walkley-winning cartoon, From the Heart, depicted Uluru as an upturned middle finger, critiquing the government’s response to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
In 2024, Kudelka was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. He wrote an article for the Saturday Paper titled Lessons from political cartooning, reflecting on his craft. He was deeply admired by colleagues, readers, and even the politicians he skewered.
