Savannah, GA, Oct. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This fall, Telfair Museums will welcome Savannahians and guests to experience The Art of the Character: Highlights from the Glenn Close Costume Collection. This exhibition will open at the Jepson Center on October 10, 2025, and run until February 15, 2026. Glenn Close is an iconic award-winning American actress with a career spanning five decades.
Throughout her storied career, Glenn Close has collaborated closely with costume designers to help bring the characters she embodies to life. According to Close, “What a character wears has everything to do with who that character is. Like a marionette hanging lifeless on a wall, a costume on a hangar is waiting to come alive.”
Inspired by the creativity and craftsmanship she saw in her film and theater productions, she began collecting and preserving costumes and accessories from her projects after her first movie, The World According to Garp (1982). “I started saving my costumes for several reasons: After spending countless hours in fitting rooms, I hated the fact that most costumes end up sold to costume houses, rented out and ultimately ruined. Also, while a costume was being created for me, I was creating the character who would wear it. I benefitted immeasurably from the hours spent in fitting rooms, at the center of collaborations between those who designed and those who built or bought. I have witnessed great artists at work and wanted to preserve their creations for others to learn from and admire.”
In 2017, she donated her over 800-piece collection to the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University and the exhibition was first presented at the University’s Eskenazi Museum of Art in 2020. “The Indiana University Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design’s Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection is honored and pleased to collaborate with our former IU colleague David Brenneman to present “The Art of the Character” at the Telfair Museum,” said Eskenazi School Founding Dean Peg Faimon. “We are very excited to be sharing these innovatively designed and beautifully crafted pieces with audiences in Savannah and beyond.”
“Our visitors will be fascinated and inspired by the insights into the career of an iconic American actress as they explore the exquisite craftsmanship this multifaceted collection offers,” said David Brenneman, Telfair Museums Executive Director and CEO. “We are so pleased that Glenn Close and Indiana University have agreed to share this work with us,” Brenneman continued.
The Art of the Character: Highlights from the Glenn Close Costume Collection will offer visitors a unique opportunity to thoroughly explore the dedication and meticulous artistry of teams of designers, drapers, and other craftspeople responsible for the over 50 ensembles and numerous examples of jewelry, shoes, and other accessories on view.
It will feature the work of award-winning costume designers, including Anthony Powell (1935-2021), Ann Roth (b. 1949), James Acheson (b. 1946), and Alexandra Byrne (b. 1962), and highlight the craftsmanship of costume making workshops such as Barbara Matera Ltd (active 1968-2001).
Glenn Close has received numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for eight Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Grammy Awards. She was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
This exhibition is organized by Telfair Museums in partnership with the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design at Indiana University. Please visit www.Telfair.org for more information or to purchase tickets.
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For more information, please contact Lesley Francis at [email protected] or the LFPR team at 912-417-LFPR (5377).
About Telfair Museums
Opening in 1886, Telfair Museums is the oldest public art museum in the South and the first U.S. Museum founded by a woman. The museum features a world-class art collection in the heart of Savannah’s National Historic Landmark District and encompasses three sites: the Jepson Center for the Arts, the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, and the Telfair Academy. For more information on Telfair Museums, please visit www.telfair.org.