One of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s most complete design commissions for a residence was the Ayer Mansion, located on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. For two decades, much of the private mansion was accessible to the public through the nonprofit organization, the Campaign for the Ayer Mansion. A recent sale of the building means this Tiffany treasure will no longer be enjoyed by the public. Fortunately, the Campaign for the Ayer Mansion and Ayer family members generously donated furnishings from this Gilded Age interior to the Morse Museum. The Campaign felt that the Morse Museum would serve as the appropriate custodian since it is the caretaker of the “lost treasures” of Tiffany’s own home, Laurelton Hall.

This fall, the Morse will display these few tangible elements that remain from the Ayer Mansion—providing a glimpse into the remarkable home while stimulating a discussion on historic preservation and Tiffany’s design commissions.