In the 19th century, wealthy Americans enjoyed extensive explorations of Europe, many traveling to the continent multiple times in their lives.  They formed their own Grand Tour, modeled on the British custom of exploring classical sites in Italy. These American travelers collected art and furnishings along the way.  Savannah Families Abroad: The Consumption of Culture in the 19th Century, opening April 13, 2018 at the Telfair Academy, will feature many of the lavish souvenirs wealthy Americans procured to commemorate their journey and as marks of their own refinement.
 
Savannah sisters Mary and Margaret Telfair enjoyed three trips to Europe, traveling throughout the continent and visiting many famous sites.  On their first trip in 1841, Margaret Telfair met and married William Brown Hodgson, a fascinating man with vast intellectual interests.  Hodgson became an integral member of this intimate family group and made two more trips to Europe with the sisters over the next 30 years.  A former diplomat to the Barbary States, Algeria, the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Peru, Hodgson spoke 13 languages including Hebrew, Arabic, and Sanskrit. He was a scholar in the truest since.  Once Hodgson relocated to Savannah to be with Margaret, he pursued a wide variety of academic studies, including Islamic culture, linguistics, orientalism, and geology.
 
Considering Hodgson’s fascination with cultures of the East, part of the exhibition features fine and decorative arts obtained and showcased by Europeans searching for the exoticism of the Orient.  Many of these textiles and ceramics were imported to the United States, while others were made by Americans in “oriental” styles.  As these motifs became popular, more images of the East were sent back to Europe.  European photographers captured choreographed images taken in front of painted backdrops that embodied eastern stereotypes.
 
The exploration and consumption of cultures deemed ‘Other’ has been a common pastime in the West for hundreds of years.  Savannah Families Abroad also looks at this phenomenon from its more innocent and educational incarnation, The Grand Tour, to the more insidious and damaging results of Orientalism.
 
Savannah Families Abroad: The Consumption of Culture in the 19th Century will be on view April 13, 2018– March 10, 2019 at the Telfair Academy.
 
Related Program
Lecture and Reception
Thursday, August 16, 6pm / Telfair Academy
Members free / non-members $8
Join Shannon Browning-Mullis, Curator of History and Decorative Arts, for a talk that examines the travels of 19th-century Savannahians. A reception will follow.