Born in Adelaide, Bill Leak was raised in Condobolin and Beacon Hill, Sydney. He studied art for two years at the Julian Ashton school and later travelled Europe, viewing the great masters and working on his own paintings. In the early 1980s, Leak also developed his skills in cartooning. He worked regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Bulletin before moving to The Australian newspaper. He has received numerous Stanley and Walkley awards for his cartoons, and his paintings have been frequently hung in the Archibald Prize.
