Telfair Museums Curator's Choice

Opened in 1886, Telfair Museums is the oldest public art museum in the American south. Robin Nicholson introduces Telfair's collection, housed across three sites in Savannah, Georgia. Opened in 1886, Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, is the oldest public art museum in the southern USA. Today, Telfair Museums consists of three unique buildings: the Telfair Academy, the historic Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, and the contemporary Jepson Center for the Arts. Telfair Museums was formally founded with the bequest of Mary Telfair in 1875 and now has grown to over 6,300 paintings, sculpture, works on paper and decorative arts. Telfair's collections are particularly strong in American Impressionism, the Ashcan School, and American and English silver. Director Robin Nicholson's text is an engaging insight into the history of Telfair Museums and its varied collections, featuring artworks by Childe Hassam, Henry Ossawa Tanner, George Bellows, Helen Levitt, and Mickalene Thomas.