Jack Lenor Larsen (1927-2020)

Image: Jack Lenor Larsen. Photo (c) Shonna Valeska. Courtesy of LongHouse Reserve.

Jack Lenor Larsen, internationally known textile designer, author, and collector of traditional and contemporary crafts has died aged 93. Jack Lenor Larsen founded the firm that bears his name in 1952. Over the past seven decades, Larsen - the company - has grown steadily to become a dominant resource for signature fabrics. The "Larsen Look" which began with Larsen's own award-winning hand-woven fabrics of natural yarns in random repeats evolved to become synonymous with 20th century design at its pinnacle.

Image: 1950s sofa with Larsen fabric.

Known as an innovator, Larsen won many awards and is one of only four Americans ever to be honoured with an exhibition in the Palais du Louvre. More than a weaver, Larsen was a scholar, world traveler, and an authority on traditional and contemporary crafts. His home, LongHouse, located on 16 acres in East Hampton, NY, was built as a case study to exemplify a creative approach to contemporary life. He believed visitors experiencing art in living spaces have a unique learning experience, more meaningful than the best media. Inspired by the famous Japanese shrine at Ise, LongHouse contains 13,000 square feet, and 18 spaces on four levels. The gardens present the designed landscape as an art form and offer a diversity of sites for the sculpture installations.

Dianne Benson, President of the Board, LongHouse and Matko Tomicic, Executive Director, paid this tribute: “Being in Jack’s presence was a privilege -- a gift beyond measure.  He was a creative and aesthetic genius, attuned to the world in ways that would prove revolutionary.  He invented a new kind of public garden, always changing the landscape as his fertile ideas drove inspiration and experimentation.  He was engaged with the world around him and looked to the future...always...never accepting mediocrity. Jack turned the ordinary and the commonplace into the extraordinary and unique.”