WINTER PARK, FL.- The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art invites all to enjoy the season with new installations, celebrations, and live music.

On Tuesday, March 4, the Morse will present a new exhibition Arts and Letters, featuring 74 objects that explore the art of letter writing and the ways in which Americans of the 19th and 20th centuries used the written word for both communication and creative expression. Drawing on the Morse’s collection and archives, the objects in this gallery illustrate the intimate relationship between art, identity, and the written word.

Also opening Tuesday, March 4, Vignette: Fair Views offers an intimate glimpse into a world’s fair. In the tradition of German-French art dealer Siegfried Bing’s Maison de l’Art Nouveau, this vignette presents a curated display with important examples of furniture, textiles, pottery, glass, and objets d’art from the turn of the 20th century. Some objects on view were displayed at various world’s fairs and are denoted with hand-lettered cards.

Through a collaboration with the Morse Museum and Creative City Project, the Museum’s historic Merita neon sign is back in public view. The fully restored 48-foot-long sign is on display at the 30 South Orange Avenue lot in downtown Orlando through Tuesday, April 1, as a part of DTOLive!, an initiative presented by the City of Orlando’s Downtown Development Board aimed at bringing free arts experiences to the community.

For eight consecutive Fridays from March through April, the Morse presents Spring Friday Nights with free admission starting at 4 p.m. and various musicians enhancing the gallery experience from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Orlando Violin Music will begin the series with a string trio on Friday, March 7.

Free admission is offered during special celebratory events, including the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Celebration which takes place from Friday, March 21, through Sunday, March 23. Additionally, as is tradition, free admission is offered Easter weekend, Friday, April 18, through Sunday, April 20. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., live music will enhance the gallery experience on Friday evenings, March through April.

The Museum’s Wednesday Lectures begin in March. On Wednesday, March 26 at 2:30 p.m., Ethan Robey, Senior Lecturer for the Department of History at the University of California, Irvine, will present “Elegant Containers: Commercial Displays at Nineteenth-Century World’s Fairs.” He will examine the display strategies used at world’s fairs and their effect on the consumer and cultural landscape. On Wednesday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m., Roberta A. Mayer, Professor Emerita of Art History at Bucks County Community College, will present “Louis Comfort Tiffany and Algeria.” She will navigate the Tiffany family’s 1876 travels around French Algeria in North Africa through his paintings and photograph collection.

March also kicks off a free Spring Friday Film Series on fashion. Viewers will learn about American portrait painter John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) and his remarkable ability to portray individual identities and personas. Then, explore the fascinating history of jeans, the ubiquitous casual wear of today.