Although best known for his post-1945 modernist paintings, Leroy Flint humorous and satirical prints of everyday life made during the Depression rank among his finest work. He was born and raised in Ashtabula, Ohio. Paying for his education through scholarships and odd jobs, he attended the Cleveland School of Art, 1932–36. After graduation, he worked for the Works Progress Administration on the graphic arts, mural, and adult education projects. On the graphic arts project Flint made a series of lithographs sketched while he was on a year-long shanty boat trip down the Ohio River. He lost his WPA salary, however, when he continued his trip outside the state of Ohio. Returning to Cleveland, he made murals for the Valleyview housing project, the community building of the Woodhill Homes housing project, and the Oxford School, all dated 1940. While on the WPA he was a member and executive secretary of the Cleveland Artist’s Union and a member of the American Artists’ Congress. During World War II, Flint was a senior instructor in the map reproduction department of the Army Corps of Engineering specialty school in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He was the director of public information for the Cleveland City Planning Commission, 1946–49, quitting to teach at the Cleveland Museum of Art and pursue graduate studies at Western Reserve College. In the 1950s he became an advocate of abstract art and began working at the Akron Art Institute, where he held the positions of instructor, curator of education, and director. He left the Akron Art Institute in 1965 to become professor of art at Kent State University, where he also worked as director of the University Galleries. Flint lived in Cuyahoga Falls until his death.
Transformations in Cleveland Art. (CMA, 1996), p. 228