Reviews of Telfair Academy (Museum)

Charles Salliby

I'll be honest, this isn't really my thing and I'd probably not visit something like this very often. Nevertheless, there was a lot of hospitality during our visit and the help desk was just that. They answered every question we had and were truly eager to help, not just there to take your money. It had a big focus on historic art, some of it was stellar, some of it was a tad bit more nostalgic for the local community. The bird girl was very nicely displayed on the top floor seeing she no longer resides in the Bonaventure Cemetery, and it was very cool that she hasn't been moved from the Savannah community. So yes, great visit if you're into historic art, not so much if you're not. I'll give it 2 thumbs up for keeping the spirit of Savannah alive, great job.

Stephen Cerda

wonderful place to learn about the history of the people who lived in the city.

Essjay Tee

A small collection, but there are some beauties here - La Parabola being one.

Tara Miller

the art and house is beautiful and very well presented. i love learning the history of the house but would love to know more about the architecture and the building of the house. also now benches would be great to sit and view the art more.

Pamela Shultz

Nice Art

Madeline Gunther

Lovely grand historic house museum. Permanent collection on the lower level includes first-rate Impressionist paintings, and some outstanding casts of Classical statuary (Laöcoon, Dying Gaul, etc.)

Trenton Adamson

The Telfair museum offers a surprising amount of variety. With your admission you get access to other museums in Savannah. Good bang for your buck. This particular location had a ton of paintings from a wide range of time, sculptures, and artifacts set up in rooms in situ. I'm personally not a huge fan of these types of places, but it was enjoyable and reasonably priced. PS, don't mind my photo... It was the only one I took without my party in them. But we still thought it was funny.

Todd Palmer

I was expecting to be wowed with first public museum. So underwhelming, skip this place. Parking a challenge.

Dan R

Beautiful/perserved house and wonderful museum with well appointed galleries and displays of mid-American and European paintings and Oriental art.

Jay White

Excellent museum. Great European and American art. Easy access and great for the kids. It truly captures the spirit of being in downtown Savannah. A must see.

Elizabeth Thomas

I wish there was more to see.

Martelie Sanders

Beautiful Museum. Security guard told of her ghost encounter. Wonderful end to Ghost Tour.

Erik Herman

Absolutely stunning.

jonesq63

. Very educational. great museum.

Jonathan Yang

Awesome museum with awe inspiring pieces from both scale and design. Definitely my favorite of the 3 museums that are included with the ticket price. All in walkable distance of the historic downtown.

Bj Jj

Great art.

Paul Dehnert

Beautiful home, changed into a museum. Watch the eyes in the paintings, they will follow you.

S Creger

Great museum to visit. Beautiful and impressive history.

Natika Stevens

Me and my friend went as a part of the ghost tour and the guide we had she was very good and knowledgeable about the area and kept you entertained.

Trae War

Wonderful piece of history and so much fun

Kelly Anderson

The Black Prince painting was breath taking. Never saw anything like it in my life before.

Zachary Tower

bird girl

Kelly Lawrence

This was grouped into a package of three places. This was about as interesting as watching paint dry. If you’re into art which you cannot see because it’s too dark, by all means go! Two of the three places were not worth it. But the tour of the actual home was lovely.

Ron Weekes

Lovely architecture but could benefit from more historical exhibits.

Raymond Ellis

Great Museum. I enjoyed the Mansion to Museum tour, as well.

Sarah M.

Home to the Ladybird statue and offering beautiful art exhibits!

E Bridges

Clean and well laid out art museum

Luke

The at at the telfair academy is fantastic. Really some cool pieces to look at.

Matt Fitzgerald

The first art museum in the south east, cannot recommend the tour enough. Far more art here than the new building next door.

Scott Messmore

Wonderful collection of art.

Megan Sellinger

Really neat look into the lives of those who lived in historic Savannah, and a neat collection of art and history. The Academy itself is beautiful and well kept. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely worth it to pay to go here and visit all three museums.

Adam Sabree

Very well kept slave mansion ..... heard my ancestors sharing a few of their stories and where the bones and gold are buried. Not #wolfofwoodward certified.

Brian Heller

Great collection. Good exhibits. Good history amount of history of the family on display.

Joseph Kurilecz

Beautiful house with much history.

Toni Brandon

Ok visited as part of a tour

Etta May

When you buy a combined ticket to $20 you get to visit all 3 Telfair properties. The Academy has a nice mix of periodartifacts as well as a number of significant paintings by American artists

Karen Sorg

Nice place to see the transitions of time.

Henry Criss

Excellent place to spend an educational afternoon with the kids. Very kid friendly museum.

Candie Warner

It was beautiful as a museum but not the original house and furnishings

Andrew Mobayed

Beautiful artwork

Monika van Hoeve

High light: John Singer Sargent painting in collection. Beautiful building. Lovely lady welcomed me at ticket counter.

James Davidson

This museum is small compared to more well known ones but does offer some interesting items. The displays seem small within the huge rooms. There are a few pieces of art that are very large. For my taste, some of the military themed pieces rival any I've seen. It is a contrast with the local artisans work showing southern culture next to the Telfair collection of Roman re-creations. Still, a worthwhile place to visit while in Savannah.

Michael RoBards

What a gem in the amazing Savannah historic district. Highly recommend the three museum tour. Clean. Comfortable, helpful staff, and very educational. Quite a step back in time exploring what life would have been like in Savannah over the past couple hundred years.

Debi Root

I run a rescue and just wanted to check this out. Thought it was an awesome idea. Walked across town to visit and although there were only 2 people that were interacting with the cats, I was told it was Reservation only and I couldn't go in. Sad for the cats who are looking for forever homes :(

Tellise Canty

It was okay nothing to write home about in my opinion, you may rate it differently.

Elma Armer

I really enjoyed it Thank you so much

Jess Glass

Lovely little art museum. We came here directly after the Owens-Thomas House, so we were not that interested in the historic preservation sections, having already had our fill, but the galleries are really lovely. Some beautiful pieces of art. This one won't take you too long to go through. The building itself is gorgeous.

Katt Keefe

Great place with beautiful art. Don't miss it!

Tim Thomas

Really one worth seeing Because it is included in with the other museums. By itself I wouldn't bother.

Gail Solomon

A great place to visit

Ruth Warren

Amazing artwork.

Giles Gonnsen

Neato museum in Savannah, with tours and special events regularly hosted here. Good art and history.

Jackie Westfall

Gorgeous historical house and a stunning collection of well curated art. Pleasant staff. Highly recommended.

Myra Ortiz

Good art museum though it was a little boring for me.

Gene Crain

Nice displays, easy to move around if you're a senior or mommy with toddler.

Joseph Andrade

Interesting museum. Worth a return visit.

Patti Robinson

Great night

tee martin

Great place to visit

Morgan Breden

Very interesting look into the artistic history of GA. I learned a great deal going through the exhibits here - also a great place to go on a date!

Cl Ra

Little gem of a museum, quick in and out (can be seen pretty thoroughly in 90 minutes on your own), tours offered, some gorgeous pieces and a few well-known artists. Admission here is also good at Jepson Center next door and valid over a week, so don't balk at the ticket price ($20 w/o coupon or Groupon per adult). Nice place to hide from the heat; it's cool and quiet.

Marcia Palmer

Surprising array of artwork. Worth the visit.

Drawing Gal

Was lovely to see the historical background of the area and to gain knowledge. Absolutely adored it here!

Thomas Steffek

Great time.

Christina Young

I give it 3 stars and was very hesitant in deciding between 1 or 5 stars because Lacey Wilson (tour guide) was definitely worth more then 5, the house was amazing to see, the pain, misfortune, and what the slaves had to abide by or put up with was definitely brought up. This is what I was looking for in a tour like this. So thanks Lacey! I recommend if you go to see this place you ask for her as a tour guide if you truly want to know and understand what slaves went through not just the beauty of the home and old times. I felt it while I was there! One star because I asked one key question. “This home was built by those for free and their is a wall to show for this now. So now that the owner is making millions off the home of a slave seller and slave owner through tours, donations, and whatever else, are they doing anything for the black community such as college funding or scholarships?” Though she didn’t think so or was uncertain I went to look it up and guess what. Nope!! Sure they are providing summer art camps for kids or it says 500$ will underwrite tech classes for girls in underserved areas but that’s definitely not enough and what about specifically for the black community? What about the black men? I’m sorry but once the bills are paid maybe pay some dues to black society. And to think I almost donated money or bought an item from the gift shop. Absolutely not.

Terry Steele

Great experience

Matt Nichols

Very interesting, especially for the price

Sharon Garcia

So awesome the statues my favorite

Raymond Miller

Unquestionably a museum not to miss! This is only the outside looking in, is yet enticing u the world renowned art waiting for u to explore inside , oh enjoy!

Vicki Hays

Nice layout with the current Art exhibit, and history films on the surrounding area.

Fall Line 829

It was interesting to look around. To expensive for what you get

Lisa-Marie Brown

The first stop on the Telfair triple museum experience. Not as exciting as the other two, but offers history into the collection.

Melissa Irving

Great museums!

Steve Wilkie

Excellent museum. I went there on free musuem Sunday.. I need to go back as it is worth the admission to tour more leisurely. I had to que up to get a picture of the bird girl statue.

Sue Fassett

Not much to see.

Anthony Muljadi

Nothing famous but a nice museum

Ev G-S

The tour guide was very knowledgeable. Nice little museum.

Renee Moats

This is a Savannah MUST SEE. We were most interested in seeing Bird Girl, but there was so much other art history detail within this museum, that it became our favorite museum of the day.

Julia Carey

Small art museum but interesting.

Richard Chambers

Interesting and lovely old home turned into an art museum. Some interesting pieces including old plaster casts of sculpture from Europe. The architecture of the building is almost as interesting as the art work.

Patriots Rule

Cool history

Shelbi Allen

Small but lovely. Great small areas for kids as well.

Edward Weiss

A must see

Sonya Unger

I love museums and this one did not disappoint. Reading the book with this statue on the cover...can you guess the name? ;)

Bari Trost

We took a tour with Jacqui, she's very knowledgeable about the early history of the home and people who lived there. That was my favorite part of the tour. I did enjoy the art also, but the home history was my favorite.

Joan Dewey

Lovely and great place to see some amazing art.

Ana Paula Ferreira

Love it

Brian Dubois

Great little museum with an interesting collection of paintings and plaster casts of famous sculptures from around the world. The ticket is also good for a couple other interesting nearby sites.

Laurent Hamel-St-Hilaire

Great visit, the VR exposition was something new I had never tried.

FranknKimm Fields

Beautiful home and great info on the woman who donated her home. It was a FREE to the public day for locals and you show your I.D. to get in. They also have a handicap entry exit. On the left side of the building and also elevators.

Matthew R Chase

Beautiful building with exciting exhibits.

Brandi Waldheim

Enjoyed every minute of our visit.

Bruce Dutton

Historic and a great learning experience. Loved the time here. Greeted with a smile by the tour guides

Chris Ferraro

Great colonial style house that is now a museum. Interesting to see the architecture as well as the art that decorated it. Admission gets you in to three other museums.

Rembert Burgess

Architecture and history was good and moving

John Goacher

Classic architecture and exhibits. Most informative and inspiring. Well worth a visit.

Jim Dorazio

Good classic art, large collection

Alyssa Phillips

Boring. Security officer said she never seen or heard ghost or anything abnormal. Art work was nice.

Dana Foxworth

Beautiful and educational.

Val Wilbanks

Awesome

Daniel Rocco

Excellent art museum.

Ben Molenaar

Great place, very interesting.

Juanita Augustine

Great experience

Shelly Thompson

Interesting way to combine the history of the house with artworks.

David Jones

Beautiful and moving art and history. The bird girls location is stunning, thank you.

El Bridges

Very well displayed and staffed

Soha

Incredible art and statues. If you do all three Telfair museums it's only $20. It's worth it.

Tennille Herron

We stopped here for the Elvis tour and found some other contemporary art surprises on the inside. One of the most interesting contemporary pieces was a collection of objects a father found in his son's mouth. The pic of the collected objects is attached.

Mike Gaffney

Typical art museum but in an 18 century southern mansion with 1700 and 1800 artifacts.

Lois Parrish

Awesome experience, historical

Autumn St.Germaine

Beautiful art

Southern Bell

The staff is wonderful. I recommend you check out their annual memberships. Its well worth the $50.00 for the year. It includes events as well.

Pauline Zimmerman

Beautiful, well curated

Tommy Joe Mallory

Closed today, come back another day

Michelle Rivera

Really nice day spent with my daughter.

Whitney Kieser

great museums. Access to all of them in the day.

Evan Smith

A wonderful collection of fine art in such a historic city

Brandon F

Great value, three museums with one entry fee, and they are all fantastic.

Sara McNeil

Enjoyed it for the history of the home but not so much for the collections and the replicas.

Paul Gillaspey

Very nice museum. Great at and sculptures. Some period pieces that explain history is Savannah

Carter Stanfield

Well worth the time

Catherine Stevens

Wonderful small collection. Can be enjoyed leisurely, time and time again.

Dan Palumbo

As one of three museums included in price, this it's worth it. Historical significance of paintings great.

Fred Cheesman

Beatified exhibit

Michael Peake

A small group of museums showcasing history and art in beautiful downtown Savannah. Friendly staff, student discounts, good stop for a leisurely afternoon.

Vrishab Kakade

Great place to visit if you are an art student

Jared Smith

Beautiful art here.

Bee Gill

Rodin: The Human Experience is incredible. The sculptures are made even more awe-inspiring by the narrative placards which mix the artist's life with the artist's intent. It seemed that the artist's goal was to communicate complex human emotions and concepts through the human body, without the distraction of face and features. The exhibit was poorly lit, and though flashless photography was encouraged (by a single placard on one wall) most of every figure was sunk in shadow. The sculptures are casts from the artist's molds, from which many duplicates were made before and after his lifetime. What would have made the experience delightful would be to experience the pieces by touch, to feel what the artist felt over a hundred years ago. Touching was strictly prohibited. Not because of potential damage, but because there are nude bodies in most of the displays. Rodin is inaccessible on a deeper sensory level because while I am tracing the art nouveau that crept into The Fallen Angel's frail wings, your kids are honking Aphrodite's breasts across the room. So much for the human experience.

Amanda R

Just wanted to thank y'all for your friendly, warm Southern hospitality! I absolutely adore Savannians and am eternally grateful for the ongoing preservation of incredible architecture and history!

Sylvia Lang

Old Savannah Tours, Ghost tour! Awesome!

Renee von Behren

If you’re looking for the lady with the bird statue, you’ll find it here on the third floor. It was moved here to protect it from the elements and people after the novel heightened its popularity. The museum also houses some unexpected casts of ancient Roman statues which were procures back in the day when the rich could do such things. Easy to see everything in one stop. As an added benefit, the building is just beautiful. Your entrance fee also gets you in to two other places.

Jane Stevens

Kind of a one-off museum. Old house, would have been a mansion in it's day. Hodge podge of paintings. Guide was very good. I was tempted to speed through and get out of there but stayed for the tour and that made the visit worthwhile. Fun insights into turn of the last century Savannah. Jepsen center is across the street and you get both admissions for one price, so that is a good deal.

Rob Silvagni

It was an interesting small art museum. We enjoyed it more then the Jepson Center.

Patricia

I'm so proud to claim this as a part of Savannah that I love. The quality of Works housed here along with the dedication of the gifted docents and the generous sharing of their wealth of information make this a highlight stop in Savannah.

Ummaayah Prue

Awesome place to visit if you want to learn Savannah history! The guides were friendly and informative.

Erin West

The Building was majestic and impressive as soon as we saw it from our Trolley, and after hearing its history, we knew we had to come back to explore it further.This Telfair family home – a Regency Mansion—was designed by William Jay and completed in 1819 for Governor Edward Telfair’s son Alexander. Mary Telfair – the family heir – bequeathed the house to the Georgia Historical Society in 1875. After a large expansion, it was re-opened as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1886, becoming the first Art Museum in the South.

Wendy Lumbert

Excellent museum which is very handicapped accessible. From pianos for years gone by, sculpture, architecture and an abundance of local artists from the 1700-1900.

Diana Mendes

Had low expectations but this place surprised me. The collection was not bad and the building is gorgeous. The Jepson Centre had a great exhibit on road trips across America that I loved.

Greg Rice

Jepson museum is very cool

Colt Stewart

Great old home/ museum. Some nice pieces. Excellent trifecta with all three facilities.

Bobbie Buck

Fun and educational

David Hoyle

Lots of art to look at.

Kat Klemp

Took about 2 hrs and really enjoyed it looking at all the art. Really appreciate the history.

Kevin Jackson

Great place! Definitely go if you need a break from the historical home tours.

Michelle Dietrich

Fun place to learn about history. Some great exhibits.

Lhu Trebu

Nice

Alexandria Domorod

Would go again. It was amazing!

Liz Mohler

Beautiful!

Dean Eiden

Well worth the price of admission. You actually get three museums for the price of one. If you are in Savannah, definitely check it out

Andrew Bolin

Great day trip

Benny Adams

Take the tour! Lots of interesting information and history!

Dave Berk

Gorgeous Mansion turned museum in the heart of historic Savannah with captivating art.

shawn Murphy

Great experience. I was good to learn more about GA's history.

James Andrew

The telfair museum is a package deal so you get 3 places. The Mansion/art museum is lovely. Lots of American impressionists.

Richard Gigliotti

Beautiful place!

Vitor Lindo

nothing to see at all.... money and time down the drain... the sculptures are fake... its all plaster casts...

Jennifer Sullivan

You don't miss out on too much if you skip this but there is a lot of beautiful artwork...

Nicholas Montalto

We really enjoyed seeing all of the art and sculptures in the Academy. Thanks to Mary Telfair for giving us this landmark. I have attached a few pictures of some of the art and sculptures we saw during our visit. My favorite was the painting of the dark prince of wales in the huge piece on the wall! Epic in my mind and representative of times long ago!

Elizabeth Butler

Loved the entire art collection!