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in the development of taste in collecting, dating back to our beginnings as a nation. ( music ) like any cultivated gentleman his time, thomas jefferson had a special admiration for raphael. jefferson was in the avant-garde in forming theaste for classical architecture d art in america. raphael stood athe summit of that tradition. while serving as minister to france, jefferson purchased art for his collection. included were two copies after raphael. one is now lost, but the other, a copy after a holy family, is still at monticello. a copy adequately represented raphael s style. it also stood as an example of jefferson s taste. but his contemporaries believed that the united states should first develop in a practic direction. benjamin franklin claimed, for example, thatthe invention of a machine is of more importance than a masterpiece by raphael. john adams said, the age of painting and sculpture has not arrived in this country, and i hope it will not arrive soon. i w ....