'A Jeffersonian Ideal' At The University Of Virginia Art Museum

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

:After Thomas Jefferson helped establish the new republic, he turned his attention to academia, staunch in his belief that an educated populace would assure a sound democracy. When he founded the University of Virginia in 1819, he put his theories into practice and created the "academical village" where anyone could join a community of learners. Today, Jefferson's theories have borne fruit once again in the new exhibit "A Jeffersonian Ideal: Selections from the Dr and Mrs Henry C. Landon III Collection of American Fine and Decorative Art" on view at the University of Virginia Art Museum.

Jefferson's academical model, influenced by his own classical education and the European travels that exposed him to Enlightenment thinkers, was the guiding force of the new exhibit. As Jefferson was instrumental in establishing a young American aesthetic, it is of interest that much of the Landons' collection was created during his lifetime; many pieces were made by artists who flourished because of Jefferson's principles.