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Art, History, and Architecture in Savannah

Telfair Museums offers a unique understanding of Savannah’s place in our collective American past through art, history, and architecture. Mary Telfair’s 19th-century vision has uplifted the people of this city and beyond for more than a century. Her legacy continues to inspire.

Located in Savannah’s Historic District, Telfair Museums is comprised of three unique sites. Tickets include a visit to all three sites and are valid for one week from time of purchase.

Jepson Center

Jepson Center outside the atrium

  • Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, winner of an AIA Gold Medal.
  • Opened to the public in 2006.
  • Consists of 7,500+ square feet of gallery space.
  • Boasts 220-seat auditorium, community gallery, education studios, and sculpture terraces.
  • Includes work of notable American artists.
  • Houses the Kirk Varnedoe Collection, including works by Jasper Johns, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, Cecily Brown, Frank Stella, Kiki Smith, and Richard Avedon.

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Telfair Academy

Facade of Telfair Academy featuring five sculptures

  • Designed by William Jay in neoclassical Regency style.
  • Completed in 1819 as a residence for Alexander Telfair.
  • Bequeathed to the Georgia Historical Society by Mary Telfair in 1875.
  • 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.
  • Houses 19th- and 20th-century American and European art.
  • Includes major paintings by Childe Hassam, Frederick Frieseke, Gari Melchers, Robert Henri, George Bellows, and George Luks, and the original iconic Bird Girl statue.
  • Contains three 19th-century period rooms.

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Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters

View of the front of the Owens-Thomas House

  • Designed by William Jay in the English Regency style.
  • Housed 14 enslaved people on the property by 1840.
  • Bequeathed to the Telfair Museum of Art in 1951.
  • Boasts decorative arts collection including Owens family furnishings.
  • Includes American and European objects dating from 1750-1830.
  • Features one of the earliest intact urban slave quarters in the South.

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