The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum Of American Art

History:

Jeannette Genius McKean founded the Museum in 1942 on the campus of Rollins College, naming it the Morse Gallery of Art in honor of her grandfather, Chicago industrialist and Winter Park philanthropist Charles Hosmer Morse. Hugh F. McKean, then an art professor at the college, was appointed director. In 1957, the McKeans rescued architectural elements, furniture, and windows from Laurelton Hall, Louis Comfort Tiffany's Long Island estate. Over a period of almost fifty years, the couple went on to assemble extensive holdings of Tiffany objects for the Morse — what is today the world's most comprehensive collection of the designer's work.

The Museum moved to 151 E. Welbourne Avenue in 1977 and its name was changed to The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. The Morse opened at its current location, 445 North Park Avenue, on July 4, 1995. The galleries were developed from former bank and office buildings. The redesign linked two buildings with a tower in a simple modified Mediterranean style meant to blend with the surrounding cityscape. Today, after an additional expansion to install the Tiffany Chapel from the 1893 Chicago world's fair, the Museum has more than 11,000 square feet of exhibition space — nearly three times the gallery space in its former location on Welbourne Avenue.