WINTER PARK, FL.- The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art will open its 2025–26 Season on Tuesday, October 14, with two new installations that explore innovations that redefined American glassmaking at the turn of the 20th century.

The Museum’s 2025–26 schedule also includes the 47th annual Christmas in the Park, an outdoor exhibition of Tiffany windows on Thursday, December 4, and celebratory events for Thanksgiving Weekend, Christmas Eve, Winter Park’s Arts Weekend, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, and Easter Weekend.

From November through April, the Museum offers free admission Friday nights 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

Breaking Tradition: Distinguishing American Stained Glass
On view October 14, 2025

In the 19th 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.

Tiffany Art Glass
On view October 14, 2025

Louis Comfort Tiffany’s blown-glass art pieces, introduced to the public in 1893, were an avenue for his most innovative and daring experiments in glass. By the turn of the 20th 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.

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

Thanksgiving Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, November 28, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, November 29, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Sunday, November 30, 1–4 p.m. Live music from 5–8 p.m. Friday. Museum Store Sunday.

Holiday Friday Nights: Free admission from 4–8 p.m. Live music from 5–8 p.m. on five consecutive Friday nights, November 28 through December 26.

Christmas in the Park: The Morse and the City of Winter Park present the 47th 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 4, Central Park, downtown Winter Park.

Christmas Eve Celebration: Free admission Wednesday, December 24, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Live music from 1–4 p.m.

ARTS WEEKEND IN WINTER PARK

Winter Park Arts Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, February 6, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, February 7, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Sunday, February 8, 1–4 p.m.

SPRING EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

Beyond Glass: The Paintings of Louis Comfort Tiffany
On view March 3, 2026

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.

Salon-Style Paintings
On view March 3, 2026

From the 17th 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.

SPRING AT THE MORSE

Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Celebration: Free admission Friday, March 20, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, March 21, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, March 22, 1–4 p.m. Live music 5–8 p.m. Friday.

Spring Friday Nights: Free admission from 4–8 p.m. Live music from 5–8 p.m. for eight consecutive Friday nights, March 6 through April 24.

Easter Weekend Celebration: Free admission Friday, April 3, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, April 4, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, April 5, 1–4 p.m. Live music 5–8 p.m. Friday.

The Morse Museum houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), including jewelry, pottery, paintings, leaded-glass windows and lamps; his chapel for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and art and architectural objects 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.