Telfair Museums is proud to announce the success of A Collectors’ Evening, which was held on January 15 and led to the museum acquiring seven major pieces for its permanent collection.

A Collectors’ Evening was presented by the Gari Melchers Collectors’ Society, which supports and promotes the expansion of the museum’s permanent collection. The first-of-its-kind event allowed patrons to play curator for a night by casting secret ballots to determine Telfair Museums’ next acquisition, which was made possible by the evening’s proceeds. Patrons had the opportunity to vote on a work of art that that was chosen by Telfair’s four curators. Lisa Grove, Telfair Museums director and CEO; Courtney McNeil, curator of fine art and exhibitions; Tania Sammons, senior curator of decorative arts and historic sites; and Harry Delorme, senior curator of education, each attempted to make the most persuasive argument as they competitively campaigned for their piece to be selected as the winning item.

The evening turned out to be a rollicking, fun night with cocktails, art- and wine-related live and silent auction items and more. Not only was a winner chosen but to everyone’s amazement, a group of anonymous donors offered to acquire all of the other choices for Telfair Museums.

“I am deeply grateful for the generosity of Telfair Museums’ Gari Melchers Collectors’ Society,” said Lisa Grove. “In addition to expanding the museum’s permanent collection, these seven exceptional acquisitions reinforce the interesting variety of objects in our collection. We are excited to share these works of art with the community.”

Tania Sammons proved to be the most persuasive and came out as the winner. Her chosen art is an assortment of four silver items. Three of the silver pieces belonged to George Savage Owens, who lived in Telfair Museums’ Owens-Thomas House. A butter dish, basket, and compote have his initials on them. The fourth silver object is a Griffin claret jug from 1866. Allfour of these unique silver pieces fit nicely into Telfair’s silver collection, with a connection to Savannah’s history.

“I’m really excited to have won Telfair Museums’ first Collectors’ Evening event and I’m even more excited that all the proposed pieces will now be a part of our collection, thanks to the generous donation of anonymous patrons!” said Sammons. “The four silver pieces in the winning lot will fit perfectly in our growing, high quality collection of American and British silver. The whimsical and daring claret jug will be featured in our upcoming exhibition, Cheers!, and the Owens family pieces will be on display in the silver closet at the Owens-Thomas House.”

The three surprise acquisitions include Lisa Grove’s pick, (My) Precarious Life by Whitfield Lovell that came from the inspirational exhibition Whitfield Lovell: Deep River, which is currently on display at Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center for the Arts until February 1. This thought-provoking modern work of art better diversifies Telfair’s permanent collection and allows Telfair to strengthen its contemporary collection.

Courtney McNeil’s selected piece is a 1651 print by Rembrandt called The Flight Into Egypt. Rembrandt not only is one of the most important artists in history but he was one of the greatest printmakers of all time, who changed the face of printmaking as an art form. This is Telfair Museums’ first acquired Rembrandt piece.

Harry Delorme selected a fan-favorite piece from last year’s PULSE Art + Technology Festival. It’s an interactive wall piece by duo Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza called Notional Field. This playful interactive piece combines new media art with fiber art that appeals to a broad audience. Notional Field will be displayed at this year’s PULSE beginning this week.

Telfair Museums’ permanent collection consists of more than 7,000 objects including two historic landmark buildings. Telfair is known for its strength in impressionist paintings, and is excited to open Monet and American Impressionismon October 16.

Videos of each curator’s acquisition proposal:

1. Butter Dish, Basket, Compote, and Claret Jug presented by Tania Sammons

2. (My) Precarious Life presented by Lisa Grove

3. The Flight Into Egypt presented by Courtney McNeil

4. Notional Field presented by Harry DeLorme 

See attached for description of each art work.