Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art

Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of the famous New York jeweler, became the leading American artist of the decorative movement around the turn of the twentieth century. He was obsessed with color and light in glass, and he pioneered techniques for making iridescent, richly hued leaded glass that seemed to glow from within, used in windows, lamps, mosaics, and blown-glass vessels. His workshops turned out some of the most celebrated decorative art America ever produced.

The centerpiece of the collection is the Tiffany Chapel, a shimmering interior of stained glass, mosaic, and a great glass mosaic altar and columns that Tiffany designed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After the fair it passed through several homes and years of storage before being reassembled, and today it stands complete in the museum, one of the most breathtaking single rooms of American decorative art anywhere.

Tiffany built a sprawling estate called Laurelton Hall on Long Island, a personal masterpiece filled with his own glass, tile, and design. After his death the house fell into decline, and in 1957 a fire gutted it, leaving the estate a ruin. Much of what had been inside seemed lost.

It was saved by two Winter Park collectors, Hugh and Jeannette McKean, who had a deep personal connection to Tiffany, Hugh having been an artist-in-residence at Laurelton Hall as a young man. In the wake of the fire they gathered surviving windows, columns, architectural fragments, and interiors from the wreckage, and over the years assembled the extraordinary Tiffany holdings that anchor the museum today. The museum itself is named for Jeannette McKean's grandfather, the industrialist and collector Charles Hosmer Morse.

While Tiffany is the star, the museum's holdings range more widely across American art and design from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are American paintings, art pottery, and decorative arts, along with jewelry, ceramics, and glass by other makers of the period, giving context to Tiffany's brilliance and showing the broader creative ferment of his age.

The galleries are arranged so that natural and controlled light plays across the glass, which is essential, since Tiffany's work is meant to be seen with light passing through it. Standing before a leaded-glass landscape window, watching the colors shift, is a very different experience from looking at a painting, and the museum's design lets that quality shine.

Winter and spring are delightful in Central Florida, with mild dry days perfect for pairing the museum with a stroll down Park Avenue, a boat tour of the Winter Park lakes, or a wander through the town's gardens and campus. The cooler months bring the town's noted outdoor art festival and its busiest, liveliest stretch.

Summer is hot and humid with daily afternoon thunderstorms, which makes an air-conditioned art museum an ideal midday retreat. Autumn is warm and quieter, an easygoing time to visit before the winter season fills the town again, and the museum's indoor calm is a welcome year-round constant against Florida's weather.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, in the charming town of Winter Park near Orlando in central Florida, is a distinguished art museum famous for housing the most comprehensive collection of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany in the world. The museum showcases Tiffany's spectacular stained glass, lamps, jewelry, pottery, and decorative arts, including the breathtaking, recreated chapel interior Tiffany designed for a world's fair, along with American art pottery, paintings, and decorative arts. A dazzling celebration of Tiffany's genius and American art, it is a cultural jewel. With its Tiffany masterpieces and American art, the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum offers a fascinating destination in Florida.

You can see the world's most comprehensive collection of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, including his spectacular stained-glass windows, iconic lamps, jewelry, pottery, and decorative arts, and marvel at the breathtaking, painstakingly recreated chapel interior Tiffany designed, a dazzling masterpiece of glass and mosaics. The museum also displays American art pottery, paintings, and decorative arts. The stunning Tiffany glass and the recreated chapel are the highlights, luminous and unforgettable. With its Tiffany masterpieces and American art, the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum offers an inspiring visit in Winter Park, Florida.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was a famous American artist and designer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, celebrated as a master of decorative arts and especially of stained glass, whose luminous, jewel-toned windows, iconic lamps, and glassware became icons of the Art Nouveau era. His innovative techniques and artistry made him one of the most influential decorative artists in American history. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum holds the world's most comprehensive collection of his work, including a chapel he designed. Learning about Tiffany's genius deepens appreciation of his dazzling creations at the museum in Winter Park, Florida.

As an indoor museum, the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum is enjoyable year-round in any weather, making it a great stop during the hot Florida summer or a rainy day, though checking current days and hours before you go is wise, as it is typically closed some days. Its charming Winter Park location pairs well with the town's shops, dining, and other attractions, especially pleasant in the milder months. Because it is climate-controlled and dazzling, the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum makes a reliable and rewarding stop any time of year in Florida.

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum is in Winter Park near Orlando in central Florida, near Winter Park's charming shops and dining, within reach of the Orlando theme parks including Walt Disney World and Universal, Gatorland, and the Orlando area. That makes the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum a fascinating stop to combine with Winter Park, the Orlando attractions, and the other sights of central Florida on a visit to the state.