Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences

The Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences is a National Historic Landmark building which primarily houses 19th and 20th century art. It is also the oldest art museum in the South.

Some Museum Facts:
 

	Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences is the home of the original Bird Girl Statue.
	It permanently houses over 4,000 works of art from America, Europe, and Asia.
	The paintings, sculpture, and decorative art date from the 18th - 21st centuries.
	Showcases diverse traveling exhibitions
	Largest public collection of visual art by Lebanese writer Kahlil Gibran, best known as author of The Prophet.

Overview:

The mansion in which the Telfair's fine art collection is housed was designed by English architect William Jay in the neoclassical Regency style. Built 1818-1819 for Alexander Telfair, son of the Revolutionary patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair, the mansion was home to the Telfair family until 1875. Mary Telfair, an early patron of the arts, bequeathed her house and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum.

In 1883 the Telfair mansion was enlarged with the addition of the Sculpture Gallery and Rotunda. The formal opening in 1886 of the Telfair Mansion and Art Museum was attended by many dignitaries, including Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederacy.

The interior spaces are epitomized by the Octagon and Dining Rooms restored to their original elegance. These period rooms provide a splendid setting for the Museum's decorative arts collection, including American European objects from 1790-1840. The core of this collection is the Telfair family legacy, including a rare Philadelphia suite of maple furniture and an unusual dining table with two sets of semi-circular leaves commissioned from Thomas Cook of Philadelphia.

The Telfair boasts the largest public collection of visual art in North America by Lebanese writer Kahlil Gibran, best known as author of The Prophet. The museum has over 80 art works, including both paintings and drawings, by the popular literary figure.

The Telfair's sculpture collection is complemented by the long-term loan of Sylvia Shaw Judson's Bird Girl, known for its appearance on the dust jacket of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.