Peter Waddell, A Bird that Whistles (In Jefferson's Cabinet, 1803), oil on canvas.

President Thomas Jeffersons office, in the southwest corner of the house, was his private sanctuary that few visitors ever saw, but where he worked with his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, who would later lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was here that Jefferson enjoyed his many intellectual interests, including geography, plants, architecture, and animals. He kept a mocking bird as a pet, which would regale him with its sweetest notes.