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Morse Museum, Winter Park, Florida

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.

French doors that originally looked out into a garden. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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!

From the gallery exhibiting iridescent works. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
From the gallery exhibiting iridescent works. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
From the gallery exhibiting iridescent works. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
From the gallery exhibiting iridescent works. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
From the gallery exhibiting iridescent works. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
From the gallery exhibiting iridescent works. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

Jewelry

Tiffany’s “Peacock Necklace.” Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Gold and lapis lazuli (?) bracelet. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

American Art Pottery

What an odd concept! This one’s Tiffany.

Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

Tiffany vases and lamps

Tiffany vases. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Tiffany lamps. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Tiffany lamp. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Tiffany lamp. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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.

Unfinished portrait of an unknown man by Gilbert Stuart, who’s famous for his Washington portrait. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

Art Nouveau

I adore this lamp.

Art Nouveau lamp based on Loie Fuller’s dance. Raoul Larche, Paris, ca. 1896. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Art Nouveau lamp based on Loie Fuller’s dance. Raoul Larche, Paris, ca. 1896. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Art Nouveau table, inlaid wood. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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.)

Chapel for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Chapel for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Chapel for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Chapel for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Chapel for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Chapel for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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: Daffodil Court. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall: Daffodil Court. A tree grew up through this space. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall: Daffodil Court capital.

Laurelton Hall: Dining Room

Laurelton Hall: Dining Room. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

The motifs on the rugs echo the stained-glass lighting fixture.

Laurelton Hall: Dining Room. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

The clocks above the mantel-piece: keeping a sense of time if you don’t have a smartphone.

Laurelton Hall: Dining Room. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

Stained-glass windows in the dining room: incredibly pretty.

Laurelton Hall: Dining Room. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall: Dining Room. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall: Dining Room lamp. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

Laurelton Hall: other furnishings

Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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.

Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

Below: one of my favorites, for the vivid colors.

Laurelton Hall furnishings: Pumpkin and Beets window, 1899-1900. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall furnishings: Guelder rose and wisteria, ca. 1898. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante
Laurelton Hall furnishings: Magnolia window. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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.

Laurelton Hall furnishings. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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.

Maxfield Parrish, The Dinky Bird, ca. 1904. Morse Museum. Photo copyright © 2020 Dianne L. Durante

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.