Telfair celebrates a new exhibition in its immersive Children’s Art Museum (CAM) that focuses on the fantastic art of Savannah artist and sailor William O. Golding (1874-1943). A host of new interactive experiences will lead children and adults through the remarkable story of this artist whose seafaring adventures of 49 years inspired his distinctive maritime drawings. New exhibits by FREN Inc. bring Golding’s pencil and crayon drawings to life in animations that visitors of all ages may control and interact with.

A popular 2022 Telfair Museums exhibition and book documented Golding’s colorful life and art. Golding, an African American seaman, was tricked aboard a sailing ship as a youth on Savannah’s waterfront in the 1880s. He eventually became a seasoned sailor who served in the U.S. Navy and worked on ships of all types from a whaler to a man o’ war. In the new CAM, Telfair’s collection of 23 Golding drawings serves as inspiration for interactive exhibits showcasing the ships depicted in his art, as well as ports near and far that he visited across the globe. An immersive LED wall will allow participants to guide their own animated ship to follow Golding’s journeys, exploring geography, weather, and maritime technology as seen by one of Savannah’s most unique artists.