Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)
1811 August 20. (Jefferson to Charles Willson Peale). "I have often thought that if heaven had given me choice of my position & calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the productions of the garden. "no occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, & no culture comparable to that of the garden. such a variety of subjects, some one always coming to perfection, the failure of one thing repaired by the success of another, & instead of one harvest a continued one thro’ the year. under a total want of demand except for our family table I am still devoted to the garden. but tho’ an old man, I am but a young gardener."
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician & naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, & for establishing one of the first museums in the United States.
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