Inspiration Destination: The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art

It’s hard to dismiss the mastery of designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, but for many years following his death in 1933, it seemed as if the world at large might miss out on some of his most personal works. The contents of his 84-room Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall, were auctioned off in 1946 to pay family debts. In 1957, fire gutted what was left. Morse Museum founders Jeanette and Hugh McKean purchased and restored as much as they could and brought it to Winter Park, Florida.

In the immersive Laurelton Hall exhibit, visitors can drink in the deep blue hues of the ornate rugs in the Dining Room. Tiffany’s dinner guests must have had a tough time staying focused on polite conversation. The intricate designs on the rugs are every bit as eye-catching as the leaded-glass wisteria in the surrounding windows.

The chapel is so beautiful and peaceful. It too was almost lost—after debuting at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, it traveled to New York where it languished in a basement crypt at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine before moving to Laurelton Hall. The architecture was inspired by that of the Byzantines, and its classic arches and columns intentionally dwarf the small interior.

Tiffany’s small scale works are just as impactful, and it’s easy to lose yourself in the sparkle of opalescent glass. The dragonfly drawings next to a library lamp with a dragonfly motif give the viewer a sense of the work’s progression.

It’s truly incredible that one artist could possess the technical skills to produce so many objects that surround and illuminate us. The Morse Museum does an amazing job of displaying those works, putting them in historical context and conveying the craftsmanship behind them.

http://www.morsemuseum.org

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Kendra Lott