At the end of the nineteenth-century, attending art classes became an appropriate activity for proper young women. So it was perfectly acceptable for Maude Leach to study at the Silver Lake Art School in Perry, New York, from which she graduated in 1891. The school had been started by Lemuel Maynard Wiles, who painted in the tradition of the Hudson River School, and Leach studied with his son Irving, who was a much-honored painter and illustrator who had been a student of William Merritt Chase.

Leach also studied with Rose Clark in Buffalo, New York. Her teacher was a painter who also worked collaboratively with Elizabeth Wade in the new medium of photography. Corresponding with Alfred Stieglitz, Clark was cited by him as one of the top ten American pictorial photographers in 1902. Clark taught at Saint Margaret's School for Girls, where one of her students was the future Taos maven, Mabel Dodge Luhan (9 years younger than Leach). Perhaps her teacher's adventurous spirit was instilled in Leach, as she moved to Denver at the turn of the century.

In Colorado, Leach continued her lessons in painting with Alexis Comparet and Henry Reed. She taught art privately and at the public school in Littleton, where she kept a studio. She also kept a studio in Manitou Springs, which is reflected in her landscapes of Pike's Peak and the Garden of the Gods. In 1911, she had a one-woman show at Daniels and Fisher Dry Goods in Denver.

Her oils and watercolors have an atmospheric, at times ethereal, quality. Her favoring of glowing effects is reminiscent of the Hudson River School, but she tended to use a softer, more pastel palette. In keeping with the taste for Japanese-inspired art., Leach also made hand-painted woodblocks, which she would sign "Leach Art Studios, Denver" in the plates. There are also samples of greeting cards. Among her works are paintings of Point Loma, California, indicating possible travel further west.

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