Co-founders and CEO's Leigh Keno and Leslie Keno are internationally recognized experts in their field who are frequently requested to judge at prestigious Concours d'Elegance events, including over a decade at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. They moderate and speak at classic cars symposiums across the country. Over their 40-year careers, the Kenos have advised multiple individuals and institutions, helping to form some of the greatest fine and decorative arts and classic car collections in the world, totaling over $1 billion in value. The Keno brothers are world renowned for having discovered and sold numerous masterpieces in the collecting categories of art, antiques, and vintage cars.
The brothers are passionate about sharing the beauty, history, and preservation of artifacts with a greater audience; since 1996, they have appeared on the Emmy-nominated PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, viewed by 10 million Americans per week. Over their 19 years volunteering as appraisers on the show, the brothers have built a strong reputation for honesty, integrity, passion, and knowledge. In 2005, Leigh and Leslie were awarded the National Humanities medal by the President of the United States for their efforts in educating Americans about material culture and the importance of preservation.
Leslie and Leigh Keno were introduced to the classic car world at a very young age by their father, an avid collector of American and European marques. In the ensuing decades, they have actively collected, judged, auctioned, and raced vintage automobiles. At the same time, they have gained an international reputation for their comprehensive knowledge of historic cars, their discerning eye, and their passion for preservation.
- At the age of 16, acquired and restored a 1963 3.8 litre Jaguar XK-E Roadster, which they still own and drive today
- Attended and raced at numerous Invitational Bridgehampton Track race weekends in the 1990s, organized by track owner Bob Rubin
- Starting with racing go-carts, motorcycles, and snowmobiles in their pre-teens, they have followed their passion by racing historic motor cars at tracks across the country for 18 years at VSCCA events and The Historic Ferrari Challenge
- In 1998, drove their 1938 SS 100 3½ litre Jaguar on a 1,000 mile tour of China in the Louis Vuitton China Run
- Judges for the past decade in the pre-war and post-war preservation class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
- Lectured at the “Connoisseurship and the Collectible Car” symposium held in 2010 by The Revs Institute for Automotive Research at the Collier Museum in Naples, Florida
- 19 years of volunteering as appraisers on the Emmy-nominated PBS series Antiques Roadshow, with viewership of 10 million people per week
- Co-authors of the chapter “Passage Through Time; The Importance of Originality…” in the book Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles, published by The Simeone Automotive Foundation, which won the 2013 International Historic Motoring Awards “Publication of the Year.”
- Since 2013, judged and presented the HVA Award “This Car Matters” at the Lime Rock Historics on behalf of The National Historic Vehicle Register
- Moderators of the inaugural symposium “Stewardship of Important Cars” at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
- Panelists at the "Value in the Classic Car Market” conference in October 2014 at the Tuck School Business at Dartmouth College, organized by HAGI in association with the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship
- Judged and lectured at the inaugural Stan Hywett Hall and Gardens Concours d'Elegance in Akron, Ohio, and were auctioneers at the fundraising benefit dinner “L'affaire d'Elegance” held during Concours Week
- Judged at the twentieth annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
- Served as Grand Marshall’s at The Elegance at Hershey 2015
Leslie Keno
- During a 31-year tenure at Sotheby’s, New York, was Director of the Americana Department, responsible for selling more record-breaking single-owner sales of Americana than any other auction house in the world
- In 2005, sold the Nicholas Brown Chippendale tea table for $8.4 million, still the second-highest price achieved for any piece of American furniture
- Senior International Specialist as well as part of the Senior International Business Development Group
- Participant in the Invitational 2014 Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) Summit
- As Senior Specialist in the Automobile Department at Sotheby’s, was Instrumental in the groundbreaking Sotheby’s/RM “Art of the Automobile” auction in 2013, which included 30 classic cars totaling $62.8 million in sales and setting eleven world records
- Moderated a symposium entitled “Art of the Automobile,” the largest in the history of Sotheby’s, with an attendance of over 800 people
- Speaker on “The Importance of Preservation” at the 2014 Inaugural Bugatti Owners Club of America luncheon at Sardi’s
- Trustee of the John Jay Homestead, serving on the steering committee for the re-interpretation of the house and grounds
Leigh Keno
- Founded Leigh Keno American Antiques in 1998 and Keno Auctions in 2010, which have purchased, advised on, and sold at auction some of the greatest masterpieces, including modern and contemporary art, often setting world records
- Previously, Vice President at Christie’s and specialist in American Decorative Arts, responsible for the sale of numerous masterpieces of Americana
- Advised major museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Colonial Williamsburg
- Author and co-author of articles for Art and Antiques, Antiques Magazine and the Journal of American Furniture
- Board member of the Appraisers Association of America since 2013
- In 2011, presented a lecture via video at the Simeone Automotive Museum Think Tank, entitled “Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles,” which was the progenitor of the award-winning book of the same title, published in 2012
- In 2001, Leigh was appointed by the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service to its Art Advisory Panel in Washington, D.C., in which capacity he served for ten years
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