Location: Savannah
Top Things to do in Savannah
The 6 Best Art Museums in Savannah, Georgia (GA)
Charming Savannah is the picture of antebellum hospitality, thanks to period architecture and oak-lined streets. It’s tempting to spend your trip just relaxing on vast verandas and sipping mint juleps, but there are plenty of historical sites and museums to explore. Haunting (and possibly haunted) Bonaventure Cemetery is one of the hallmarks of the city, featuring beautiful obelisks, masses of flowers, and ivy-covered crypts. Dine on fresh seafood and creamy grits for a taste of Savannah home cooking.
Restaurants in Savannah
1. Grand Bohemian Art Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
2. Savannah African Art Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 17 reviews
Reviewed By Bar2nE - Asheville, United States
To our great surprise and pleasure, the Savannah African Art Museum was the most memorable experience of our trip to Savannah. Indeed it has the most stunning collection of African Art that my wife and I have ever seen. Located in an old house, each room is full of remarkable art, almost overwhelming in its scope. Fortunately we had the museum curator and African Art scholar, Dr. Edwin Johnson, provide us a tour of the collection. Dr. Johnson was incredibly knowledgeable, sharing not only the significance of each piece, but providing its historical and cultural backdrop.He was exceptionally generous with his time and provided the best guided museum tour we have ever experienced. While the museum is free, please be sure to give a generous donation for this treasure of a museum.
3. SCAD Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 331 reviews
The SCAD Museum of Art is a premier contemporary art museum that features emerging and established international artists through commissioned works and rotating exhibitions; engages local communities with special initiatives of an international scope; and serves as a resource for SCAD students and alumni during their academic careers and beyond. Please Note: In an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, the SCAD Museum of Art conducts a Temperature Check upon entrance and requires Face Coverings to be worn at all times.
Reviewed By Decor71 - Franklin Square, United States
We happened to there when they were having an "Open House" for prospective students. We were welcomed in.
4. Telfair Academy
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 754 reviews
Designed by British architectural prodigy William Jay in the neoclassical Regency style, the Telfair Academy is a former mansion built in 1819 for Alexander Telfair, son of Revolutionary War patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair. In 1875, Alexander’s sister Mary – heir to the family fortune and last to bear the Telfair name – bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum. After significant renovation by German-born architect Detlef Lienau, whose adaptations included the addition of the Sculpture Gallery and the Rotunda, the building opened to the public in 1886 as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences. Bird Girl, made famous by the Jack Leigh photo on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, can be found here along with the museum's permanent collection of American Impressionism.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Telfair Museums, a trio of landmark buildings located in the Savannah Historic District, amounted to the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair, a prominent local citizen who died in 1875, and operated by the Georgia Historical Society until 1920, the museum opened in 1886 in the Telfair family's renovated Regency style mansion known as the Telfair Academy. The museum currently contains a collection of over 4,500 American and European paintings, sculptures and works on paper. They are housed in three buildings--the 1818 Telfair Academy, formerly the Telfair family home at 121 Barnard Street on Telfair Square, the 1816 Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters, which are both National Historic Landmarks designed by English architect William Jay in the early 19th century, and the contemporary Jepson Center for the Arts, which was completed in 2006. The Telfair Academy contains two 19th century period rooms and houses 19th and 20th century American and European art from the museum's permanent collection, including paintings, works on paper, sculptures and decorative arts. Among the ongoing exhibits in the Telfair Academy is Mansion to Museum, which highlights the story of the transformation of the Telfair Academy site from a home to an Academy of Arts and Sciences. The neoclassical Regency style mansion was built from 1818-1819 and is the former home of Alexander Telfair, the son of Revolutionary War patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair. In 1875, Alexander's sister Mary, heir to the family fortune and last to bear the Telfair name, bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the Georgia Historical Society to be opened as a museum. After significant renovations, which included the addition of the Sculpture Gallery and the Rotunda, the building opened to the public in 1886 as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.
5. The Beach Institute
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 13 reviews
The Beach Institute was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction as the first official school for African-Americans in Savannah, GA. Today, the original historic building is home to the Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center, Savannah's flagship organization for African-American arts, history, and historic preservation.
Reviewed By Brent720
Outstanding display of African-American art throughout the museum. Extraordinary collection of wood carvings by local legend. Gallery upstairs has a display room that changes during the year.
6. Telfair Museums Jepson Center
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 536 reviews
Designed by internationally acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie, Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center presents highlights from the museum’s modern and contemporary collection and also treats visitors to an ever-changing array of exceptional artwork—from classical European masters to daring emerging artists. The Jepson Center also features a hands-on children’s museum space, TechSpace, daily drop-in studio activities for all ages, and unique shopping.
Reviewed By Alitraveli - Seattle, United States
I have been here twice and loved it both times. I'd gladly visit just to be in this beautiful building designed by the architect Moshe Safdie and to enjoy the views from throughout the building and from the building's huge windows to the lovely square outside. I have also really enjoyed the exhibits on both visits. Highlights were a chance to experience virtual reality art and an outstanding impressionism exhibit. The latter was made even better by one of the best docent tours I have ever experienced. I also highly recommend the wonderful gift shop here. Aren't museum gift shops the best?
