Eugene W. Leake Jr., renowned landscape painter
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BALTIMORE (AP) - Eugene Walker Leake Jr., a renowned landscape painter
credited with reviving the Maryland Institute, College of Art, died
Friday in his sleep at home in Monkton. He was 93.
Leake painted until just a few years before his death, depicting the
view from the window of his old barn or off to the side of the road as
he drove the meandering roads of Baltimore County.
Leake, known as "Bud" to his friends, was born Aug. 31, 1911, in Jersey
City, N.J., and grew up in nearby Montclair. During World War II, he
worked in a defense plant and then joined the Navy, serving in the
Pacific aboard a landing ship for tanks.
In 1961, he was appointed president of MICA, retiring 13 years later.
He then set up a small studio at Johns Hopkins University after being
named the school's first artist-in-residence. Soon, he had inspired a
full-fledged undergraduate program, called the Homewood Art Workshops.
Leake retired again in 1986.
In 1999, Leake was presented the University of Maryland University
College's first Maryland Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.