Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, also known as Telfair Academy and Telfair Mansion, is a historic mansion in Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. Originally a family townhouse, it became a free art museum in 1886 known as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences. Its first director, elected in 1883, was artist Carl Ludwig Brandt

Carl Ludwig Brandt

Carl Ludwig Brandt was a German-born artist who worked mostly in the United States.-Biography:Brandt was born near Hamburg, in Holstein, Germany. His father and grandfather were physicians in Hamburg. His father taught him drawing at the age of seven, and he subsequently studied in the principal...

, who spent winters in Savannah.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1976.
The mansion is now the main facility of the Telfair Museum of Art

Telfair Museum of Art

The Telfair Museum of Art, located in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, is the South’s first public art museum. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair , a prominent local citizen, the museum opened in 1886 in the Telfair family’s renovated Regency-style mansion, known as the Telfair...

, and features furnished period rooms that highlight the museum's collection of decorative arts.

External links

• Telfair Museum of Art
• Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences, Savannah, Chatham County, GA: 4 photos, 2 data pages and supplemental material, at Historic American Building Survey