Who’d have expected that the world’s best collection of stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) would be within an hour of Disney World? The Morse Museum also has the remarkable chapel that Tiffany designed for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 and partial reconstructions of several of the rooms of Laurelton Hall, Tiffany’s home on Long Island. Aside from all that, there’s a very good collection of decorative arts ca. 1850-1920, which includes Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau.
The museum is named for Charles Hosmer Morse (1833-1921), head of Fairbanks, Morse & Co., which manufactured scales, pumps, engines, windmills, and more. He retired to Winter Park, which he helped develop into a resort community. The museum was founded by his grand-daughter and her husband, Jeannette Genius McKean and Hugh F. McKean. It’s run on an endowment, without government funds, and the admission is a mere $6 (seniors $5, students $1).
The Morse is lovely and quite manageable: you can see it easily in a couple hours. As an art historian who’s often distracted by too much verbal information, one of the features I appreciated most about the Morse is that the individual works don’t have labels. There’s introductory text for each gallery printed on the wall, but if you want full information on each item, you go to your smartphone or to the printed pamphlets in each gallery. Or you can do as I mostly did on my first trip: just enjoy looking at all these lovely pieces.
For those of you who can’t get to Winter Park, I’m including a lot of photos in this post. But do remember that even two-dimensional works are better seen in person … especially when they glow like these do. Also: since there weren’t labels attached, I haven’t done proper captions.
These photos are more or less in the order in which I took them while wandering through the museum.
Stained glass panels
If you were wealthy enough to build a mansion in the late nineteenth century, these are the sort of pieces you’d have wanted to commission. NOTE: Some of the stained glass panels in this section are not by Tiffany. They were part of a two-gallery exhibit setting the context of Tiffany’s work. These are all rather large, ranging from two to ten feet high.
Gallery with iridescent works
According to the info on the gallery wall, iridescence wasn’t applied to glass until the late nineteenth century. It remained a very popular technique until the end of World War I.
This vase is small, but my fingers actually itch to hold it. What a lovely shape and design!
Jewelry
American Art Pottery
What an odd concept! This one’s Tiffany.
Tiffany vases and lamps
Portraits
The Morse has a handful of portraits. My favorites are this one and a full-length portrait of a man by Robert Henri that I couldn’t get a good photo of.
Art Nouveau
I adore this lamp.
Chapel from the Columbian Exposition of 1893
More on the Exposition here. Every detail of this chapel was created by Tiffany for the Exposition. After the Exposition ended, the chapel was moved to Tiffany’s home on Long Island, Laurelton Hall. (See below.)
Laurelton Hall: Daffodil Court
Tiffany began construction of Laurelton Hall, his estate on Long Island, in 1902. The house had 84 rooms on eight levels, plus numerous outbuildings (including the chapel, shown above). Decorations included some of Tiffany’s favorite works of his own and objects from around the world. After a fire gutted the house in 1957, many of the surviving works came to the Morse Museum.
Laurelton Hall: Dining Room
The motifs on the rugs echo the stained-glass lighting fixture.
The clocks above the mantel-piece: keeping a sense of time if you don’t have a smartphone.
Stained-glass windows in the dining room: incredibly pretty.
Laurelton Hall: other furnishings
On this detail of the Winter panel, taken from the side, you can almost see the different layers … but it’s better seen in person.
Below: one of my favorites, for the vivid colors.
Another item that makes me itch to touch it: this glass paperweight, about 4 inches high, with a pattern of color rippling through it crossways.
Parrish painting
Just before you exit to the gift shop is Parrish’s The Dinky Bird, ca. 1904. I think it’s the original: it’s an oil painting, not a mechanical reproduction. Here’s your chance to see Parrish’s glowing colors, which (like Tiffany’s stained glass) are much better in the original than in reproductions.
More
- The Morse is in charming, elegant Winter Park, which also offers upscale shopping, restaurants, and a scenic boat tour of three of the areas lovely lakes. Our meal at Tabla was delicious.
- For more on museums on this website, see the Museums and the Five Favorites links, and my article on enjoying art with kids.
- In Getting More Enjoyment from Sculpture You Love, I demonstrate a method for looking at sculptures in detail, in depth, and on your own. Learn to enjoy your favorite sculptures more, and find new favorites. Available on Amazon in print and Kindle formats.
- Want wonderful art delivered weekly to your inbox? Check out my free Sunday Recommendations list and rewards for recurring support: details here.