He is remembered as the journalist and art critic for the French satirical newspaper Le Charivari, who coined the term "impressionists" to satirise the artists now known by the word.

Leroy's review was printed in Le Charivari on 25 April 1874 with the title The Exhibition of the Impressionists.

Leroy's article took the form of a dialogue between two skeptical viewers of the work: "Impression I was certain of it.

"[1]The show (Exposition des Impressionnistes) was held in the salon of the photographer Nadar and organized by the Société anonyme des peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs (Anonymous society of painters, sculptors and engravers), composed of Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Armand Guillaumin, and Berthe Morisot.

The term was subsequently adopted by the artists themselves and has now become the name of one of the most influential art movements in history.