A while ago I was on vacation and it was raining. We decided to check out the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Florida. This may not come immediately to mind when thinking about great art museums, but let me just say, if you are ever anywhere near Central Florida, put this place on your list.
I have seen some Tiffany glass in the past — Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago has some Tiffany glass windows, and there are some pieces on display at the Driehaus Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. But I always incorrectly associated Tiffany glass with Tiffany & Company jewelers.
At the Morse museum I learned about Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was the son of the famous jeweler (Charles Lewis Tiffany). Louis C. Tiffany focused his talent on stained glass, and started Tiffany Studios to make decorative windows, lamps, and other items.
His exhibit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago was a huge hit, and much of it is recreated at the Morse Museum. In particular I found the chapel that he created fascinating.
Tiffany has some wonderful works around the world. The scope of his work is hard to imagine — one stage “curtain” of foldable panels that he created has almost a million pieces of colored glass, and weighs 24 tons. It can be found at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
If you’re interested in seeing more of his work, there is a beautiful book called Louis Comfort Tiffany: Masterworks.
