On a balmy October afternoon in Orlando, while Harry Potter fans in hooded robes were braving hair-raising rides at the Universal Studios theme park, a few miles across town, my eleven-year-old daughter Georgie was admiring an Art Nouveau vase.
I should explain, in case you’re wondering, that Georgie doesn’t normally have a particular yen for vases. She’s generally keener on all things K-Pop, manga and Harry Potter-related, and if there are rollercoasters or water parks involved, you’ll be hard pushed to drag her away. My partner Henry and I had decided however, that although we were visiting the theme park capital of the world, we would split our trip in two, visiting not only Universal Studios but also exploring another, lesser-known side to Orlando.
I had heard that the city’s leafy Winter Park area, just fifteen minutes’ drive north of the city centre, was home to world class art collections, including the gorgeous Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (admission $6/£5), so this was our first stop.
The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of works by the Art Nouveau genius Louis Comfort Tiffany – son of the legendary Tiffany jewellery store’s founder and best known for having created the famous, leaded glass, Tiffany lampshades, as copied the world over in American steakhouse chains.
As well as lampshades, Tiffany also designed vases, including the smooth, iridescent creation in peacock blue and magenta which had captivated Georgie, as well as jewellery and luminous panels of ornate stained glass, featuring trees and flowers in vivid greens, yellows and reds.
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Leaving the museum, we wandered Park Avenue, past chi-chi boutiques, smart restaurants and pavement cafes touting smashed avocado on toast, hand-made pasta and oatmeal lattes.
We were on our way to the area’s other main art collection – the Rollins Museum of Art which includes works by the likes of Picasso, Matisse and Salvador Dalí. Only a small percentage of the collection is permanently on display but when we visited, an excellent portraiture exhibition included an oil by Thomas…
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