Beginning Feb. 12, Sarasota’s Marie Selby Botanical Gardens presents Tiffany: The Pursuit of Beauty in Nature as the 2023 installment of its Jean & Alfred Goldstein exhibition series. The exhibit highlights the creativity and innovation of iconic American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany.
© Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
The presentation features a selection of Tiffany’s signature stained-glass windows and lamps integrated into immersive horticultural displays. These original installations are sited in the garden’s Tropical Conservatory and across the 15-acre downtown Sarasota campus, creating a dialogue between decorative art and living plants.
Running through June 25, the exhibition offers a rich palette of colors, shapes and textures inspired by Tiffany’s work. More than 1,000 bromeliads form floral mosaics that echo stained-glass patterns in the landscape, while blooming butterfly-attracting plants enhance outdoor scenes and encourage pollinators.
Inside the Tropical Conservatory, bold begonias, orchids, gesneriads and bromeliads compose vibrant displays that reflect Tiffany’s aesthetic. Each installation references the natural motifs that influenced Tiffany—from dragonflies and lily pads to daffodils and wisteria—demonstrating how nature shaped his design language.
© Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
In Selby Gardens’ Museum of Botany & the Arts, visitors can view a focused selection of Tiffany’s work in multiple media. More than 40 lamps, vases and other objects from a private collection are on display, illustrating the scope of Tiffany’s studio output and his innovations in glassmaking that reshaped American decorative arts both nationally and internationally.
On Feb. 14 from 5:30–6:30 p.m., a special program features Nadia Watts, great-great-granddaughter of Louis Comfort Tiffany, in conversation with Dr. David Berry, chief museum curator at Selby Gardens. Watts will speak about her family’s artistic legacy and the influence of that heritage on her own textile work. Tickets for this session are available in advance for $50 each.
General admission for the exhibition is priced to accommodate families and members: $11 for member guests, $26 for adults, $11 for children ages 5–17, and free for children 4 and under. The exhibition provides an opportunity to experience Tiffany’s historic designs alongside living botanical interpretations, offering both art and nature enthusiasts a memorable visit.