 In 1886 journeyed to Tunisia and Algeria, returning to the country's southern region several times during the 1880s and 1890s.During this period, Leroy studied the Arabic language, which enabled him to use the Arabic script effectively in a number of paintings and lithographs.In 1893, Leroy, along with artists, Maurice Bompard, Eugène Girardet, Alphonse-Étienne Dinet, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant and art historian, Léonce Bénédite, became founding members of the Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français which was responsible for promoting Orientalist art, mounting exhibitions and generally encouraging artists who wished to travel to the Orient.