Alfred Leslie was born in 1927 in New York City. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the National Institute of Arts and Letters and has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. Artists Chuck Close Close, speaking in 1991 of the extraordinary quality of Leslie's paintings and his accomplishment in creating a cohesive intellectual and political infrastructure for a resurgence of figurative art, referred to Leslie as a hero for being the one who turned the tide. Leslie lives in New York City's East Village with his longtime companion Nancy de Antonio. His most recent filmwork, The Cedar Bar, premiered at the London Film Festival in November 2002.
