The Telfair Museum encompasses three buildings in Savannah, Georgia’s historic district. The museum opened to the public in 1886 as the first public art museum in the South and the first museum in the United States founded by a woman. Today the collection contains over 7,000 American and European paintings, sculptures, and other significant works of art divided between fine and decorative arts.
Your admission includes the Telfair Academy, the Jepson Center for the Arts, and the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. The museum is open from 10:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday and 12:00pm – 5:00pm on Sunday and Monday. Tickets are valid for a week after the date of purchase.
Look For:
– Savannah’s famous Bird Girl statue was moved to the museum from Bonaventure Cemetery
– The Kirk Varnedoe Collection, featuring 27 contemporary works of art donated in his memory
– Statues of Michelangelo, Phidias, Raphael, Rembrandt and Rubens.
– The beautiful parterre garden at the Owens-Thomas House – have your camera ready Museum Tours:
At the Telfair Academy take the Mansion to Museum tour and learn about the museum and its history. An audio architectural tour of the building is another option— just ask for earbuds. The inside of the Owens-Thomas House is only viewable by guided tour. Check the museum’s website for tour times throughout the week.
Telfair Academy
Telfair Academy is a two-story mansion located at 121 Barnard Street and designed for Alexander Telfair. The mansion was constructed in 1819 on the site of the former colonial Government House, the official residence of Royal Governor James Wright. Today the museum’s permanent collection is housed in furnished period rooms and four upstairs galleries.
The Collection: 19th and 20th century American and European art
Ongoing Exhibits: “Mansion to Museum”; Before Midnight: Bonaventure and the Bird Girl; Savannah Scenes
Special Exhibitions: If These Walls Could Talk: 200 Years of William Jay Architecture (April 19, 2019 – 2020)
Jepson Center
The Jepson Center is located at 207 W York Street and houses contemporary art galleries, temporary art exhibitions, a community gallery, a children’s gallery, two outdoor sculpture areas and a 220-seat auditorium. The center was designed by acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie and opened in 2006.
The Collection: American Southern art and African American art
Ongoing Exhibits: Katherine Sandoz: Katniss; Complex Uncertainties: Artists in Postwar America
Special Exhibitions: Michael Kolster: Take Me to the River (July 12 to September 29, 2019), Suzanne Jackson: Five Decades (June 28 to October 13, 2019), Source to Sea: Ansley West Rivers (May 10 to November 3, 2019), Boxed In/Break Out 2019 (April 12 to October 27, 2019)
Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters
The Owens-Thomas House, located at 124 Abercorn street, is considered on of the finest examples of English Regency architecture in the United States. The house was designed by William Jay and completed in 1819 for Richard Richardson and his wife, Frances. In 1951, George Owens’ granddaughter, Margaret Gray Thomas, donated the family home to Telfair Museums to become the first house museum in the city. The house is now a national historic landmark.
The Collection: American and European objects dating from 1750 – 1850. Decorative arts and furnishings primarily of Owens family.
Bonus: Savannah is an amazing city that abounds with cultural and culinary experiences. Stay overnight at one of the fantastic Marriott properties: The Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront, Autograph Collection or the Mansion on Forsyth Park, Autograph Collection. Have lunch or dinner at the Olde Pink House. Spend some time strolling along River Street and Broughton Streets. One of our favorite shops is The Paris Market— don’t miss the downstairs galleries as well.
Telfair Museums
207 W York Street
Savannah, GA 31412
