Telfair Academy Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Telfair Academy
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Telfair Academy in 2015
Location in Georgia (U.S. state) Show map of Georgia (U.S. state) Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	121 Barnard St., Savannah, Georgia
Built	1818
Architect	Jay, William; Brandt, Carl N.
Architectural style	English Regency
Part of	Savannah Historic District (ID66000277)
NRHP reference No.	76000612
Added to NRHP	May 11, 1976
Designated NHL	May 11, 1976

Statue of Phidias

The Telfair Academy is a beautiful old mansion in Savannah, Georgia. It was built way back in 1818 by a famous architect named William Jay. This building is special because it's one of the few designs by Jay that are still standing today.

The Telfair Academy is now part of the Telfair Museums. It started as a family home for the Telfair family. But in 1886, it became a free art museum for everyone to enjoy. This made it one of the very first art museums in America. It was also the oldest public art museum in the southern United States. In 1976, it was recognized as a special place called a National Historic Landmark.

A Look at the Telfair Academy
- Building Design
- From Home to Museum
What You Can See Inside
- Art from Savannah
- Other Interesting Places
Images for kids
See also

A Look at the Telfair Academy

The Telfair Academy is in the old part of Savannah. It sits right next to Telfair Square. The building takes up a whole city block. It is made of brick and covered with a smooth finish called stucco.

Building Design

The entrance to the Telfair Academy is very unique. It has a special porch with four tall columns. You walk up stairs on the side to reach it. This style was typical of its architect, William Jay.

Inside, the house is quite interesting. It's not perfectly even on both sides. Some rooms have unusual shapes. For example, there's an eight-sided drawing room. There's also a dining room with rounded ends. The building used to have a carriage house on its west side. This part was changed in the 1880s to become part of the museum. It has beautiful wooden decorations.

From Home to Museum

The house was built in 1818 for Alexander Telfair. His father, Edward Telfair, was an early governor of Georgia. The land where the house stands was once home to Georgia's royal governors.

In 1875, Alexander's sister, Mary Telfair, gave the house to the Georgia Historical Society. She also included all the furniture and family collections. This generous gift allowed the first art museum in the southeastern United States to open here in 1886. The house was updated and made bigger to be a museum.

What You Can See Inside

The Telfair Academy has rooms set up just like they were when the Telfair family lived there. These rooms show off the museum's collection of beautiful decorative arts. You can also see many of the family's original furnishings. The museum has lovely American and European paintings and sculptures from the 1800s and 1900s.

In front of the building, you can see statues of famous artists. These include Rembrandt, Rubens, Phidias, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

Art from Savannah

Besides art from famous European and American artists, the Telfair Academy also shows art that tells the story of Savannah. It features works by artists who lived in Savannah.

Myrtle Jones was an artist who painted city scenes and portraits. She learned some of her skills at the Telfair Academy.
Frederick Marquand was a silversmith. He worked in Savannah before moving to Southport, Connecticut.