Celebrate Mr. Jefferson's birthday and greet your OLLI friends for an in-person lecture and a social hour at the Greencroft Club. We will gather at 4:00 p.m. to hear Gaye Wilson's lecture about Jefferson on Display: Attire, Etiquette, and the Art of Presentation. After the lecture and questions, the conversation will continue at a reception featuring heavy hors d'oevres and adult beverages.
THE LECTURE:
From his first steps onto the virtual stage of national and international politics, the multifaceted Thomas Jefferson adeptly created and managed a public image that could change as needed to promote his political goals. During his long career, this image shifted from cosmopolitan intellectual to man of the people. As president, he kept friends and foes guessing: he might appear unpredictably in worn and out-of-date clothing with hair unkempt, yet he could as easily play the polished gentleman in a black suit as he hosted small dinners in the President’s House that were notable for their French-inspired food and fine European wines. Even in retirement Jefferson’s image continued to evolve as guests at Monticello reported being met by the Sage clothed in rough fabrics that he proudly proclaimed were created from his own merino sheep, leading Americans by example to manufacture their own clothing, free of Europe.
Author and historian, Gaye S. Wilson has studied Jefferson through his portraits, clothing choices, and contemporary accounts of his polite refinements of dining, grooming, and conversation. She sets this against his political goals and objectives in order to reach a better understanding of the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ of his self-fashioning.
Gaye S. Wilson has been associated with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello since 1993. As the Shannon Senior Historian at Monticello’s International Center for Jefferson Studies, she lectured and published on Jefferson and his times extensively. She holds a BA and MFA from the University of Texas and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. Currently she serves on the OLLI at UVA Board of Directors.
The registration fee of $26.00 includes the lecture, reception, and one adult beverage.
*An additional perk is available to you, Greencroft invites OLLI members to make dinner reservations after this event. Please call Greencroft 434-296-5597 and select option 1 to make your reservation (this will be an additional expense incurred by you and is not covered by OLLI).
