Tenenbaum Family Art Collection on View at Telfair Museums

SAVANNAH, GA (February 20, 2023) — Photography’s Last Century: The Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee Collection is now on view at the Jepson Center through May 21. Originally presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the exhibition celebrates the remarkable ascendancy of photography in the last century through the extraordinary collecting achievements of Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee. Their passion for art was inspired and encouraged by the collecting of Ann Tenenbaum’s late parents, Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum, who were champions of Telfair Museums and cultural leaders across the Savannah community. It marks the first time a Met exhibition has been presented in Savannah and the Lowcountry, and is a landmark moment in the museum’s more than 135-year history.

The exhibition includes more than 80 masterpiece photographs by the medium’s greatest practitioners, including works by Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Ilse Bing, and Man Ray; Edward Weston, Walker Evans, Helen Levitt, and William Eggleston; Diane Arbus, Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and Mickalene Thomas.

In conjunction with Photography’s Last Century, Telfair will present a second exhibition, celebrating the lives and private art collection of the late Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum. Bold Expressions: The Collection of Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum will open March 10. Remembered for their business acumen, love of community, and generous philanthropic efforts, the Tenenbaums were deeply invested in art and education, which extended to their colossal efforts to raise funds to construct the Jepson Center.

To celebrate both exhibitions, Telfair Museums will welcome distinguished guest speaker Ann Tenenbaum on March 31. She will discuss her parents, the late Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum, who incorporated art into their daily lives and were deeply committed to the arts, education, and community, and how they influenced her own extensive involvement in art collecting and advocacy. Ann Tenenbaum has served on boards of trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Dia Center for the Arts, Tulane University, Sarah Lawrence College, and numerous other major arts and educational institutions.