Designed by British architectural prodigy William Jay in the neoclassical Regency style, the Telfair Academy is a former mansion built from 1818-1819 for Alexander Telfair, son of Revolutionary War patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair.
General Info
In 1875, Alexander’s sister Mary – heir to the family fortune and last to bear the Telfair name – bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum.
After significant renovation by German-born architect Detlef Lienau, whose adaptations included the addition of the Sculpture Gallery and the Rotunda, the building opened to the public in 1886 as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Telfair Academy contains two nineteenth-century period rooms and houses nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European art from the museum’s permanent collection including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and decorative arts. Highlights include fine examples of American Impressionism and Ashcan School Realism, with major paintings by Childe Hassam, Frederick Frieseke, Gari Melchers, Robert Henri, George Bellows, and George Luks.
Admission ranges from $5 to $15. Call for more info.
Amenties: Public Restrooms, Accessibility for mobility-impaired, and Party Facility. Hours Open : The Telfair Academy is open year round, every day of the week (closed some major holidays).
Sunday at 1-5 pm - Monday at 12-5 pm and Tuesday-Saturday at 10 am-5 pm
Contact - Address - Directions & Website
Phone: 912-790-8800 - Address: 121 Barnard St., Savannah, GA - Directions from I-95: Exit at I-16 East into the Historic District. I-16 will turn into Montgomery Street. Turn right onto Oglethorpe Avenue from Montgomery Street. From Oglethorpe Avenue, turn left on Barnard Street. Follow Barnard to Telfair Square. Proceed 3/4 of the way around the square. The Telfair Academy is on the northwest corner, at 121 Barnard Street. Telfair Academy Website
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In 1875, Alexander’s sister Mary – heir to the family fortune and last to bear the Telfair name – bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum. 