Leonard L. Greif

Greif was born in Baltimore.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania and entered the family business, men’s clothing manufacturer L. Greif & Brother. Greif served in the Coast Guard during World War II, then returned to find he did not like working in the clothing industry.

After taking courses at a New York photography school, Greif opened a portrait studio in downtown Baltimore in 1954. His portraits of brides and debutantes appeared for many years on the society pages of the Baltimore Sun and occasionally The New York Times. His photographs of physicians hung at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He relocated to Baltimore’s Roland Park neighborhood in the 1970s.

Over the years, Greif often donated cameras and other equipment to the Maryland Institute College of Art’s photography department. After his death, through The Greif Family Fund of The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, his family gave $100,000 to endow a photography scholarship at the Institute.