SOLD OUT! Experience high Victorian tea in the historic dining room and parlor of Glessner House! These beautifully restored rooms serve as the perfect setting for this popular event, where attendees are treated to a traditional high tea with fine china, silver, and an assortment of delicious treats served in three courses - scones, sandwiches, and dessert.

Curator William Tyre will exhibit and discuss special objects from our archives brought out just for the event. Invite your mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, or good friend for what promises to be a most memorable experience. And men are welcome, too!

Just 30 spaces available per seating. Reservations required, as tickets sell quickly—don’t delay!

Join us in the beautiful courtyard of Glessner House for our annual gala, Celebrating William Morris.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of Morris & Company. William Morris had a profound influence on English and American interior design which continues to resonate today. The Glessners embraced his design aesthetic, selecting numerous wallpapers, fabrics, and other objects for their home, many of which have been recreated as part of the ongoing restoration of the house.

The event, styled as a summer garden party, will include abundant food and beverage, and the opportunity to tour the house, believed to be the most complete Morris interior of any publicly accessible house in the U.S. Morris-related items from the archives, not normally on view, will be on exhibit during the event.

A brief program will include the presentation of the annual John and Frances Glessner Award to Melinda Watt, who leads the Art Institute of Chicago’s textile department as Chair and Christa C. Mayer Thurman Curator. In 2021, she curated “Morris and Company: The Business of Beauty” which featured an entire gallery devoted to Glessner House.