Leonard Cave

Cave died on July 11, 2006 in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. The collision occurred in Frederick County, MD. The surviving passenger in the car was Carolyn Gipe, a fellow teacher and his fiancée.

After completing his graduate coursework, Cave taught at Georgetown University for seven years. In 1986 he left his position at Georgetown University to teach briefly at the Torpedo Factory. For twenty years he taught at public schools in Montgomery County where he taught ceramics, sculpture and digital art. Additionally, he was instrumental in establishing an Academy of Commercial and Fine Art for the Montgomery County School District. At the time of his death, Cave was working for Northwest High School in Germantown, MD.

In 1984, Cave was a founding member of the Washington Sculptors Group (WSG). Cave was elected the WSG's President and oversaw the formation of the organization. He helped draft its first constitution and by-laws, insured its non-profit status, organized the first Board, and located sites for shows. In addition, he worked with the National Park Service to host the first symposium on wood sculpture that took place in accordance with WSG. His mission was to push sculpture into the foreground of DC art (which was otherwise considered a "painter's town") and to foster an exchange of ideas among sculptors, collectors, and the public.

Leonard E. Cave (October 22, 1944 – June 11, 2006) was an American sculptor who worked in the Washington metropolitan area. Cave exhibited his works in solo and group exhibitions mainly within the United States and Japan. He primarily worked with wood, carving large sculptural and abstract pieces, though he also worked with other materials, such as metal. In 1984, Cave founded the Washington Sculptors Group in Washington, D.C. He presided over this group for several years, though he was also a professor at Georgetown University and a public school teacher. He died in 2006 after sustaining fatal injuries from a car accident involving a drunk driver.

Leonard Cave was born on October 22, 1944 to Cecil Reginald and Lila Mae Cave, the third of four brothers, Cecil, Blanchard, and the youngest, Phillip. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but spent his childhood in Orangeburg. When Cave was young, his father died. Throughout his childhood, he had undiagnosed Tourette's syndrome.