WINTER PARK, FL—Just in time for The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art’s festivities during the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, the Museum will reopen its video room and relax its mask requirement starting Tuesday, March 15.
To celebrate the 63rd Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, admission to the Museum is free Friday, March 18; Saturday, March 19; and Sunday, March 20. On Friday, March 18, enhance a visit to the galleries with music beginning at 5 p.m. by the Beautiful Music Jazz Trio (bass, flute, and guitar).
The Morse Museum is also reopening its video room after almost two years. Two videos, normally shown on site, A Legacy for the Community (13 minutes) and The Tiffany Chapel: A Masterpiece Rediscovered (11 minutes), have been available to the public online since May 2020. Regular airing of these films in the video room—one tracing the Morse Museum’s history and founding, the other detailing the installation of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s 1893 chapel interior may once more provide enriching information to Museum visitors just before they step into and enjoy the gallery experience.
Beginning Tuesday, March 15, masks are no longer required to visit the Museum, given current public health conditions. However, individuals are still encouraged to wear a mask while visiting the Museum. The Museum still encourages all to be courteous in the galleries, continuing to practice social distancing whenever possible and using the sanitizing stations in the lobby area.
The Morse Museum is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933). Tiffany is renowned for his innovations in glass, but he worked in nearly every artistic medium—from painting to film. Jeannette Genius McKean (1909–89), Charles Hosmer Morse’s granddaughter, founded the Museum in 1942. She and her husband, Hugh F. McKean (1908–95), the Museum’s director until his death, built the Morse collection over a period of fifty years.
Museum hours from November through April are 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday; and l p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Regular admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $1 for students, and free for children under 12. All visitors receive free admission from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays from November through April.
The Museum is owned and operated by the Charles Hosmer Morse Foundation and receives additional support from the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation. It receives no public funds.