Morse Museum of American Art, Orlando

The Morse Museum of American Art is located near Park Avenue in Winter Park and is best known for its extensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Founded in 1942, the museum focuses on American art from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with particular attention to decorative arts. The galleries are arranged in a clear, manageable layout that allows visitors to move through the collection without following a fixed route.

After you enter, begin with the stained-glass galleries. Stand a few steps back from the windows and notice how layered glass and subtle color shifts create depth rather than flat images. Move closer to see how individual pieces of glass are cut and assembled. Nearby, cases of lamps and metalwork show how similar patterns appear across different objects, using repeated natural forms such as flowers and vines.

Continue toward the reconstructed Tiffany Chapel, originally designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Pause at the entrance and take in the full height of the space before moving inside. Look at how stained glass, mosaics, lighting, and architectural details are integrated into a single environment. The chapel is arranged as a complete interior rather than a standard gallery, which changes how the work is experienced.

Additional rooms present rotating exhibitions and other examples of American art from the same period. These spaces provide context for the Tiffany collection and allow visitors to move at their own pace, returning to sections that draw their attention or spending time with specific works that stand out.