JEFFERSON IN RETIREMENT
(front)

MEDIUM:
Painted clay model, 20"H

TYPE OF WORK:
Portrait

COMMENTS:
A recent opportunity to submit a proposal for a portrait of Thomas Jefferson propelled me into three-four months of intense studying of and reflection upon "Mr. Jefferson." I loved this experience, and soon found myself full of admiration for this amazing man. Who could feel so? For what a marvelous specimen of humanity he was! So studious, so inquisitive, so principled, so eloquent, so accomplished! And yes, so passionate. No wonder the women of Paris found him so attractive! No wonder his daughter was so devoted to him. No wonder he was so respected by his peers.
 
And yet there is the disturbing fact of his having been a slave owner. How could this great man, author of the Declaration of Independence, who with measured eloquence bequeathed to those memorable words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." How, we ask, could Thomas Jefferson inscribe these words as the birthright of our nation, and yet keep slaves? My admiration for Thomas Jefferson searched for an answer, but failed to find one that could hold. Yes, he was born into circumstances which he did not create, and it is true we can never know his full mind on the subject of slavery, and we level judgment upon him from the comfort of our times at our peril—but still the contradiction remains, acute and irreconcilable, and this contradiction is as much the legacy of Thomas Jefferson as is the Declaration of Independence, the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, the University of Virginia, or the Louisiana Purchase.
 
PRICE:
Limited Edition #1 of 12. True Bronze mounted on polished
stone base. $10,000.

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