The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, known affectionately as ‘The Morse,’ houses an eclectic variety of American art, spanning 120 years, and the world’s foremost comprehensive collection of masterpieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Located in the quaint town of Winter Park, 15 minutes from downtown Orlando, this beautiful gallery is a feast for the senses. Enjoy light classical music in the background in a dimly lit, cool gallery as you wander through displays of paintings, pottery and the world-famous Tiffany masterpieces of glass, color and design.
The centerpiece of the museum is the awe-inspiring Byzantine chapel, built in 1893 for the Chicago world’s fair. The chapel is arguably Tiffany’s most impressive creation, and Hugh F. McKean, former student and preserver of many of Tiffany’s art, said, “The chapel was his favorite among all his works.”
Measuring only 39 feet long and 25 feet wide, words fail to accurately describe the beauty and magnificence of this chapel, and it alone is worth the $6 admission to the museum. Gallerygoers can’t help but sit in stunned silence admiring the inlaid lectern, altar cross and baptismal font. Look above and marvel at the one-of-a-kind Electrolier, a massive electric chandelier in the form of a three-dimensional cross.
The chapel had quite a journey to Winter Park from the Chicago World’s Fair; to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City; to Tiffany’s Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall, barely surviving a devastating fire at the estate in 1957; and then finally was salvaged from the rubble and resurrected, in a sense, at The Morse. The curators also rebuilt the beautiful Daffodil Terrace of Laurelton Hall inside the museum.
Just outside the museum exit, browse through the eclectic boutiques and shops of Winter Park Town Center. For lunch or dinner, try Boca or Orchid Thai Cuisine. Just want a snack? Find one of the two French pastry shops and select your favorite fresh pastry and a coffee. And, weather permitting, enjoy Winter Park’s Scenic Boat Tour, established in 1938, for a leisurely pontoon boat ride through Winter Park’s chain of lakes.
For more information, visit https://morsemuseum.org/ and www.scenicboattours.com.
