Upcoming Exhibitions

In the nineteenth century, opalescent glass introduced an entirely new painterly and naturalistic aesthetic to the stained-glass industry in America. Artists at the forefront of the opalescent era, such as Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) and John La Farge (1835–1910), pioneered new techniques for coloring and forming glass, innovations which shaped public taste and distinguished American stained glass from its European counterparts. Breaking Tradition explores this dramatic shift and the ways artists adopted and broke from convention to redefine a centuries-old medium.

Louis Comfort Tiffany’s art glass pieces, introduced to the public in 1893, were an avenue for his most innovative and daring experiments in glass. By the turn of the century, Tiffany (1848‒1933) and his artisans were experts of technique, producing nearly any texture, color, or form. This installation brings together examples of the artist’s mastery of textured effects, from smoothly cut Agate glass to pitted and organic Lava glass.

Though lauded for his innovations in glass, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848‒1933) began his artistic career as a painter and continued the practice throughout his life. This exhibition showcases his paintings and continuous exploration of color and light in the medium.

From the seventeenth century, art exhibitions known as salons were important social and cultural events. Characterized by their floor-to-ceiling or “salon-style” hanging, these visually rich presentations fostered art appreciation and shaped the careers of emerging and established artists. This exhibition takes the form of a salon, featuring a variety of paintings from the Morse collection.