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The Art of Reflection

Alumna’s paintings feature Jefferson cups

Edith Arbaugh (Educ ’55) taught art in Charlottesville for 29 years. A well-known figure in the local art scene, she is one of the founders of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild and received the Piedmont Council of the Arts’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

In her Jefferson Legacy Series of watercolor paintings, Arbaugh depicted architectural details of the Lawn, then incorporated Jefferson cups into the composition. The final paintings combine the original drawing and fragmented images of it reflected in the curved shape of the cups.

“The silver cup designed in the 18th century by Thomas Jefferson has become a well-known classic shape in central Virginia,” Arbaugh says. “I think of the cup as a symbol of life—an eternity of circles—reflecting and becoming part of all that surrounds it.”