WINTER PARK, FL—The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art will open its 2026–27 season on Tuesday, October 13, with the exhibition Revolt in the Parlor: Escaping Victorian Taste. Taking its title from a 1969 book of lectures edited by Hugh F. McKean, this exhibition traces the evolving currents of art and design from 1890 to 1959. It follows the cycles of experimentation, disruption, and reinvention that emerged as creators reacted against the “fascinating clutter” of Queen Victoria’s time.
The Museum’s 2026–27 schedule also includes the 48th annual Christmas in the Park, an outdoor exhibition of Tiffany windows on Thursday, December 3, and celebratory events offering free admission for Thanksgiving Weekend, Christmas Eve, Winter Park’s Arts Weekend, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, and Easter Weekend.
Friday nights November through April, Museum admission is free from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visitors may explore the Museum’s collection while listening to live music on selected evenings.
FALL EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Revolt in the Parlor: Escaping Victorian Taste
On view October 13, 2026
At the turn of the twentieth century, a surge of optimism inspired artists and designers to rethink the visual language of modern life. Although the 1900 Paris Exposition was a spectacular achievement, it ultimately celebrated a world looking backward rather than forward. The fin de siècle sensibility—once defined by anxiety and decadence—shifted into a measured optimism as the new century began. The death of Queen Victoria in 1901 closed the then-longest reign in British history and symbolically marked the end of an era. The decades that followed brought profound challenges and transformations. Social and political tensions destabilized nations, class conflicts reshaped governments, and expanding global ambitions set the stage for territorial disputes and world war. Yet these same forces also fueled innovation. For this exhibition, the Morse presents more than 250 objects in three galleries that reveal how artists responded to a rapidly changing world over six decades, 1890–1959.
EVENTS
The following are free public events organized by season for the upcoming year. All events are at the Museum unless otherwise noted:
HOLIDAYS AT THE MORSE
Holiday Friday Nights: Free admission from 4–8 p.m. Live music from 5–8 p.m. on four consecutive Friday nights, November 27–December 18.
Thanksgiving Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, November 27, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m. with live music from 5–8 p.m.; Saturday, November 28, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Sunday, November 29, 1–4 p.m. Museum Store Sunday is November 29.
Christmas in the Park: The Morse Museum and the City of Winter Park present the 48th annual outdoor exhibition of century-old Tiffany windows, with a concert of holiday favorites by the Bach Festival Society Choir and Brass Ensemble. 6:15–8:30 p.m. Thursday, December 3, Central Park, downtown Winter Park.
Christmas Eve Celebration: Free admission Thursday, December 24, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Live music from 1–4 p.m.
Winter Park Arts Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, February 5, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, February 6, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Sunday, February 7, 1–4 p.m. Live music from 1–4 p.m. Sunday.
SPRING EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Party in the Garden
On view March 2, 2027
This vignette celebrates the one hundredth anniversary of a garden party tea in Winter Park, hosted by Elizabeth Morse Genius (1872–1928) and her husband at Morse Park on Interlachen Avenue. Drawing from the Morse’s robust costume holdings, Party in the Garden invites visitors to consider the enduring power of fashion as an expression of artistry, identity, and culture.
SPRING AT THE MORSE
Spring Friday Nights: Free admission from 4–8 p.m. Live music from 5–8 p.m. for nine consecutive Friday nights, March 5–April 30.
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Celebration: Free admission Friday, March 19, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m. with live music from 5–8 p.m..; Saturday, March 20, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Sunday, March 21, 1–4 p.m.
Easter Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, March 26, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m. with live music from 5–8 p.m.; Saturday, March 27, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Sunday, March 28, 1–4 p.m.
ABOUT THE MORSE MUSEUM
The Morse Museum is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), including the chapel he designed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and art and architectural elements from his Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall. The Museum’s holdings encompass late 19th- and early 20th-century painting and design, including American art pottery.
Museum hours are 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday and l–4 p.m. Sunday. Regular admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $3 for students, and free for children under 12. All visitors receive free admission from 4–8 p.m. on Fridays from November–April. For more information, please visit morsemuseum.org.
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