Born into a family of art and furniture dealers, Leigh Keno has been working with fine and decorative art objects for most of his life. While he was pursuing his bachelor of arts in art history from Hamilton College, respected furniture scholar, author and Director of Sleepy Hollow Restorations (now Historic Hudson,Inc.), Joseph T. Butler invited him to intern for the summer where worked at the historic Philipsburg Manor to ensure that each room contained only artifacts that would have been appropriate to the circa 1765 period. Co-currently, he conducted primary research to write and publish an article on Odell & Booth Brothers, a late 19th century manufactory of Art Pottery in Tarrytown, New York. Going on to garner expertise in numerous professional areas, Leigh Keno appraised American furniture and folk art for Christie’s, bought and sold paintings and other works of fine art as the proprietor of his own gallery, Leigh Keno American Antiques. He also has raced a 1938 Jaguar SS-100, 1959 Lola MK I and a 1958 Series II Lotus Eleven with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and in the 90's, raced at the Bridgehampton Racetrack, owned by Bob Rubin. His favorite racecar is a 512 BB LM Ferrari which he campaigned in the Historic Ferrari Challenge. As a proponent of preservation, he and his brother, Leslie, have judged vintage automobiles at multiple Concours d’Elegance including Pebble Beach, Amelia Island and The Greenwich Concours.
Leigh Keno has also made a significant