European Art To Be Displayed at The Telfair Academy

On April 13th, 2018, the Savannah Families Abroad Exhibition will open at the Telfair Academy.

Opened in 1886, The Telfair Museums is known to be the oldest public art museum located in the South. In this exhibition, arts and furnishing from Europe collected by wealthy American travelers will be featured.

“This exhibition is an exciting chance to look at other cultures through the eyes of nineteenth-century Savannahians and the decorative arts they collected abroad,” states Shannon Browning-Mullis, curator of History and Decorative Arts. “We’re thrilled to showcase these items within the context of the journals, diaries, and correspondence of the families we’ve studied for years.”

Something to look forward to within the exhibit is two sisters from Savannah named Mary and Margaret Telfair. The Telfair sisters traveled throughout Europe and visited many prominent places while on their travels. The Telfair Academy plans to spotlight their journey, along with artworks collected by those the Telfair sisters met during their travels. William Brown Hodgson, an important figure when it came to the sisters’ travels, is one who will be highlighted.

“It’s a rare opportunity to see how the wealthy residents of the time lived and traveled,” Browning-Mullis says.

Hodgson explored Europe with the Telfair sisters for over thirty years collecting fine and decorative arts, textiles, ceramics, and photographs.

You don’t want to miss this exhibit at the Telfair Academy running from April 13, 2018, to March 10, 2019. There will be a lecture and reception following the exhibit on Thursday, August 16, 2018, at 6 p.m.

Browning-Mullis will be discussing the Savannahians and their travels through the nineteenth-century.

Written by Arianna Danzig
Images courtesy of Telfair Museums