THE MAKING OF VIRGINIA ARCHITECTURE by...

THE MAKING OF VIRGINIA ARCHITECTURE by Charles Brownell, Calder Loth, William Rasmussen and Richard Wilson (University of Virginia Press / Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: $29.95; 457 pp . , paperback original). This lavish collection of drawings, plans and photographs suggests that Virginia’s most important contributions to the arts in America may have been in the field of architecture. The illustrations range from Jefferson’s reworked sketches for Monticello to a grotesque design for a prison facade decorated with garlands of carved chains. A sure-to-please gift for historians and architects (both professional and aspiring).