New Tiffany wing at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum, Winter Park, Fla.

Lauri and I visited the Morse yesterday to see the new wing devoted to evoking Louis Comfort Tiffany's lost Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall.  The wing was only opened in February and was under construction during our last visit in November 2010.  From the original museum, one enters a small orientation foyer of wall and video displays relating to the story of Laurelton Hall.  Beyond that is a much larger room with glass walls looking out to the central courtyard with a reconstruction of the Daffodil Terrace, utilizing original glass-and-concrete capitals upon the columns and a display of the evolution of Tiffany's design for the capitals, as well as the original blown-glass fountain vase from the entry foyer.  Beyond that is an interpretation of the white-and-blue-themed dining room.  The rooms in the museum are not slavish reproductions of the originals -- this would be nearly impossible because of the sheer size of the original rooms (I believe the original dining room was well over 1600sf) -- but rather, interpretations that utilize important architectural and decorative elements salvaged from Laurelton Hall before its demolition.  In the dining room is the white marble-slab fireplace wall with three glass-mosaic clock faces inset -- one showing the day of the week, another the time, and another the day of the month.

Adjoining that room is the entry foyer exhibit with a copy of the fountain vase being illuminated from below with rotoating color wheels, the originals of which are displayed upon the wall.  No water flows from the display vase, but the floor is inset with blue tile representing the original flow of water from the vase at Laurelton that flowed through channels in the floors to more fountains and pools and even outside to other water features throughout the property.  The blue tiles lead out past the Daffodil Terrace, pass through the glass wall, and end at an outdoor fountain in the courtyard.  A nice, subtle touch.  The wall behind the fountain vase is lined with Tiffany pottery and art glass vases.

Beyond the entry fountain is the Living Room.  A massive reconstructed table centers the room.  It is piled with vintage magazines on gardening and decorating, and a mass of potted orchids is on one end, just the way the table was shown in a photograph taken in Laurelton Hall.  Above the table is a massive hand-wrought iron light fixture with green turtleback shades hanging low over the table and round lanterns higher on the ends.  The walls contain the Feeding The Flamingos window, the Boy With Gourds window, and the Four Seasons windows -- all salvaged from the original living room.
Seeing the Feeding The Flamingos window in person for the first time actually moved me to tears.  Unbelievably beautiful.

Other display rooms focus on the design elements of Laurelton Hall and Tiffany's life and influences.  A nice touch is a comfortable sitting area with a computer terminal and a well-stocked library of books.  After seeing so much beauty we welcomed the opportunity to sit a moment and digest what we had just experienced by looking through some of the books available and looking up our Tiffany lamp in books we don't yet have in our library.  Separating the sitting room from the final gallery of the wing is the magnificent Magnolia Window.

If you haven't been to the Morse, we strongly recommend a visit especially with the completion of the Laurelton Hall wing.  The rest of the museum is just as incredible and includes a room housing Tiffany's 1893 Columbian Exposition Chapel.

No photography allowed in the museum, or I would have dozens of photos posted here!  When you are in the area, also visit the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, and Flagler College across the street -- one of Tiffany's decorating commissions.