Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Essay in architecture (Quotation)

Thomas Jefferson once described Monticello as his "essay in Architecture."

West Front of Monticello with the sun reflecting of a half window on the front of Monticello's dome.

"[M]y essay in Architecture has been so much subordinated to the law of convenience, & affected also by the circumstance of change in the original design, that it is liable to some unfavorable & just criticisms." - Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Henry Latrobe, October 10, 18091

Footnotes

  1. PTJ:RS, 1:595. Transcription available at Founders Online.