WINTER PARK, FL—The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art will open its 2023–2024 season on Tuesday, October 17, with new exhibitions accompanied by related and seasonal programming.
One of the season’s highlights will be Fascinating Clutter: American Taste during the Reign of Victoria. Exploring America’s artistic and cultural landscape in the mid- to late-19th century, this exhibition delves into the styles and movements that emerged during the reign (1837–1901) of Great Britain’s Queen Victoria (1819–1901). In addition to Fascinating Clutter, the Museum will reinstall American Arts and Crafts from the Morse Collection. This exhibition examines the diversity of materials and techniques used during the Arts and Crafts movement, which emerged in the late-19th century and aimed to bring back the integrity of traditional craftsmanship in response to the effects of industrialization and mass production.
The 2023–2024 schedule at the Morse also includes programs and events. Notable among them is the 45th annual Christmas in the Park, an outdoor exhibition featuring Tiffany windows on Thursday, November 30. Celebratory events with free admission are planned for Thanksgiving Weekend, Christmas Eve, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Easter Weekend, and Independence Day.
On Friday nights from November through April, the Museum offers free admission from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visitors may explore the Museum’s collection while enjoying live music on selected evenings.
2023–2024 EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Fascinating Clutter: American Taste during the Reign of Victoria
Opens October 17, 2023
This exhibition explores the rich aesthetic landscape of Victorian America. In the 19th century, the young republic of the United States followed Great Britain’s imperial and industrial example and eagerly pursued the romantic trends sparked by her young queen. The reckonings of youth, industry, expansion, and war kindled forms of visual expression in American culture—innocence, nostalgia, mourning, revivalism, and more. Far from its stilted and chaste stereotypes, the Victorian era featured a wide range of styles that emerged from a dynamic environment, one in which modes of personal and artistic expression were transformed on both sides of the Atlantic.
American Arts and Crafts from the Morse Collection
Opens October 17, 2023
This exhibition focuses on the unified interior while revealing artists and designers who shaped the American Arts and Crafts movement. Having originated in Britain in response to the ways the Industrial Revolution degraded design and exploited labor, the Arts and Crafts movement sought to restore integrity and dignity to forms of production. The artworks on exhibit illustrate the ways in which American potteries, furniture makers, metalworkers, and other artisans advanced the core ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement—that the honest use of materials, inspired by local traditions, should be met with simplicity and unity in design by skilled handcraftsmanship. The exhibition features a selection of Grueby Pottery (1897–1913), including a pairing with a Tiffany Studios (1902–32) lamp shade.
Ongoing
Works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933)—including his chapel from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and surviving art and architectural elements from his Long Island country estate, Laurelton Hall—are always on view.
2023–2024 EVENTS
The following are free public events organized by season for the upcoming year. All events are at the Museum unless otherwise noted.
2023 HOLIDAYS AT THE MORSE
Thanksgiving Weekend Celebration: The Morse kicks off its holiday programming the weekend after Thanksgiving. Free admission Friday, November 24, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, November 25, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, November 26, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Live music from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.
Holiday Friday Nights: Free admission from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Live music from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on six consecutive Friday nights, November 24 through December 29.
Christmas in the Park: The Morse Museum and the City of Winter Park present the 45th annual exhibition of century-old Tiffany windows and a free outdoor concert of holiday favorites by the Bach Festival Society Choir and Brass Ensemble. 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, November 30, Central Park, downtown Winter Park.
Christmas Eve Celebration: Free admission Sunday, December 24, from 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Live music from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
2024 SPRING AT THE MORSE
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Celebration: Free admission to the galleries Friday, March 15, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 16, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, March 17, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Live music from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.
Spring Friday Nights: Free admission from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Live music from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for eight consecutive Friday nights, March 8 through April 26.
Easter Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, March 29, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 30, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, March 31, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Live music from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.
2024 SUMMER AT THE MORSE
Summer Family Tours and Films: June–July. Free family programs include gallery tours on selected Tuesdays with a take-home art project and a film, art activity, and gallery tour on selected Fridays. Reservations required.
Independence Day Celebration: Free admission from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, July 4. The Museum provides the celebration in conjunction with the City of Winter Park’s 4th of July Celebration in Central Park. The tradition dates to July 4, 1995, when the Morse opened its current location on Park Avenue, and the city held its first July 4th event in the park.
The Morse Museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. From November through April, the galleries are open until 8 p.m. on Fridays. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $1 for students, free for children under 12, and from November through April, free for all visitors after 4 p.m. on Fridays. For more information about the Morse, please visit www.morsemuseum.org.