Telfair Academy
207 W York St., Savannah, Georgia
One of three museums that make up Savannah’s Telfair Museum of Art, the Telfair Academy stands in a stately mansion in the city’s Historic District and houses fine art, period rooms, and exhibition galleries. Visitors come to admire the artworks and elegant architecture of the 19th-century house.
Built in 1819 for the wealthy Telfair family, the Telfair Academy became an art museum in 1886, making it one of the oldest of its kind in the US. The neoclassical-regency mansion boasts 19th-century American and European paintings and sculptures, and rooms furnished in period style. Visitors explore independently with their standard admission tickets, which also grant access to the Telfair Museum of Art’s Jepson Center and Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters.
Buy admission online to save time in Savannah, or join a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour and go to Stop 13 outside the Telfair Academy for a convenient independent visit. The Academy is also included on historical Savannah walking and Segway tours, and on combo experiences pairing Historical District sightseeing itineraries with river cruises. Rumors of hauntings at the Academy also make it a fixture on some ghost tours.
The Telfair Academy will delight anyone interested in art, architecture, and history.
The museum is stroller and wheelchair accessible.
Allow around 90 minutes to look around the galleries.
The Telfair Academy overlooks Telfair Square in Savannah’s Historic District, just a few minutes’ walk from its two sister institutions. The easiest way to reach it is using the fare-free DOT shuttle—take the Forsyth Loop route, which stops near Telfair Square. Alternatively, all the city’s CAT buses, apart from #6, #12, and #20, stop outside the Academy. Drivers will find metered street parking and parking garages nearby.
The Academy is open throughout the week, but is closed on public holidays. The galleries are generally quiet, but for the most peaceful environment, arrive near the opening time. When visiting, look out for free guided tours to learn more about the Academy’s history.
Wander the mansion to admire its art, including American impressionist and Ashcan realist works by artists such as Gari Melchers and George Bellows. Plus, don’t miss Savannah’s famous Bird Girl—a 1936 bronze sculpture that stood in Savannah’s Bonaventure Cemetery before being immortalized on the 1994 cover of John Berendt’s Savannah-based novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
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