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JACK LARSEN
 Jack Lenor Larsen, internationally known textile designer, author, and collector, is one of the world's foremost advocates of traditional and contemporary crafts.
His awards are many and his designs are in collections of international museums. Larsen is associated with schools and art centers worldwide.
Jack Lenor Larsen founded the firm that bears his name in 1952. Over the past five decades, Larsen the Company has grown steadily to become a dominant resource for signature fabrics for the international design trade.
The "Larsen Look" began with Mr. Larsen's own award-winning hand-woven fabrics of varied, natural yarns in random repeats, and has evolved to become synonymous with modern design at its pinnacle of style and sophistication.
Known as an innovator in fabric design, Jack Larsen has won many awards and is one of only two design houses ever to be honored with an exhibition at the Palais du Louvre.
In July 1997 Colefax and Fowler Group Plc., the renowned London-based fabric company and Jack Lenor Larsen, Incorporated announced the merger between the Larsen and Cowtan & Tout, the USA subsidiary of Colefax and Fowler designs.
More than a weaver, Mr. Larsen is a scholar, world traveler, and one of the world's foremost authorities 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-style, and with the belief that the visitor experiencing a living space in the full round has a unique learning experience--far removed from the commercial priorities of model rooms or show houses.
Inspired by the famous Japanese shrine at Ise, LongHouse contains 13,000 square feet, 18 spaces on four levels. The gardens present the designed landscape as an art form in its own right.
The grounds also offer a diversity of sites for the preservation of multifarious species where they can flourish for generations to come.
| 1927 |
Born to Norsk-Canadian parents in Seattle, WA |
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| 1945 |
Enrolled at school of architecture, University of Washington |
| 1946/47 |
Studied furniture design, started to weave. Moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on fabric |
| 1949 |
Returned to Seattle to study ancient Peruvian fabrics; opened studio |
| 1950/51 |
Cranbrook Academy of Art (Michigan), Master of Fine Arts degree; Opened New York City studio |
| 1957/60/64 |
Reported the Trienale di Milano for Interiors Magazine |
| 1958-60 |
Consultant to the State Department for grass weaving projects in Taiwan and Vietnam; visited Southeast Asia |
| 1960-62 |
Co-Director, Fabric Design Department, Philadelphia College of Art, Pennsylvania |
| 1962 |
Designer and director of traveling exhibition, Fabrics International: Visited West Africa, Morocco, and the Transvaal |
| 1964 |
Design Director and U.S. Commissioner, XIII Trienale di Milano |
| 1965 |
Completed Round House at East Hampton, New York |
| 1966-67 |
Vice President, Architectural League of New York |
| 1968-69 |
Co-curator, "Wall Hangings," The Museum of Modern Art, New York |
| 1974 |
Designed "Visiona IV" exhibition, Frankfurt, for Bayer Ag |
| 1975 |
Artist-in-Residence, Royal College of Art, London |
| 1976-81 |
Chairman, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; Honorary Chair from 1981. |
| 1977 |
Curator, "Wall Hangings-The New Classicism," The Museum of Modern Art, NY |
| 1979-80 |
Retrospective, Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre |
| 1981 |
Co-director, "The Art Fabric: Mainstream" traveling exhibition opening at the San Francisco Museum of Art |
| 1981-89 |
President, American Craft Council, Emeritus, from 1990. |
| 1983-84 |
Editor, "Design Since 1945," Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| 1986-89 |
Curator, "Interlacing: The Elemental Fabric" opening at The Textile Museum, Washington, DC |
| 1986-91 |
Curator, "Splendid Forms" at Bellas Artes Gallery, Santa Fe, NM |
| 1988 |
Curator, "The Tactile Vessel: New Basket Forms," Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA |
| 1991 |
Established the LongHouse Foundation, East Hampton, NY
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| 2001-02 |
Retrospective Exhibit, "Jack Lenor Larsen: The Man and the Cloth", Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN.
Other venues: American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA, The Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA
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COMPANY CHRONOLOGY
| 1951 |
Opened New York City studio |
| 1952 |
Commission: draperies for Lever House lobby, America's first major post- war high-rise tower. |
| 1953 |
Established Jack Lenor Larsen incorporated. Began power weaving "hand-woven" fabrics such as "Granite" using many yarns and random repeat that became a Larsen style and a widespread market influence |
| 1954 |
Started the Larsen handprint collection and handspun and hand-woven upholsteries in Haiti and Morocco |
| 1958 |
With Win Anderson, initiated Larsen Design Studio |
| 1958 |
Designed and produced for Pan Am the first fabrics for jet airliners |
| 1959 |
First printed velvet upholstery fabrics |
| 1961 |
Designed and produced first stretch upholstery |
| 1963 |
Opened Jack Lenor Larsen International in Zurich |
| 1965 |
Designed Fine Arts Collection of towels, sheets, and blankets for J.P. Stevens |
| 1966 |
Fabric wall panels for the First Unitarian Church of Rochester. Commissioned by Louis Kahn. |
| 1969 |
Designed first fabrics for 747 jets for Pan Am and Braniff |
| 1971 |
Filene Center act curtain, Wolf Trap Farm. Commissioned by MacFayden & Knowles. |
| 1972 |
Acquired Thaibok Fabrics Ltd. |
| 1973 |
Established Larsen Carpet and Larsen Leather |
| 1974 |
Silk hangings, Sears Bank & Trust, commissioned by Bruce Graham Graham of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Chicago) |
| 1976 |
Established Larsen Furniture division |
| 1978 |
Act curtain, St. Charles Cultural Center, commissioned by Powell/ Kleinschmidt |
| 1980 |
Designed porcelain tableware for Dansk International |
| 1982 |
Designed upholstery collections for Cassina and Vescom |
| 1985 |
Designed Terra Nova Collection for Mikasa, Martex, et al. |
| 1992 |
Carpet, wall and window fabrics, leather upholstery for Trustees Dining Room, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| 1997 |
Larsen Inc. merges with Cowtan & Tout, the US Subsidiary of Colefax and Fowler, UK
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PUBLICATIONS
| 1967 |
Elements of Weaving, with Azalea Thorpe, Doubleday & Co., NY |
| 1971 |
The Dyer's Art: Ikat, Batik, Plangi, with Dr. Alfred Buhler and Bronwen and Garrett Solyom, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY |
| 1972 |
Beyond Craft: The Art Fabric, with Mildred Constantine, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY |
| 1975 |
Fabric for Interiors, with Jeanne Weeks, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY |
| 1981 |
The Art Fabric: Mainstream, with Mildred Constantine, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY |
| 1986 |
Interlacing: The Elemental Fabric, with Betty Freudenheim, Kodansha Int'l. USA, NY |
| 1989 |
Material Wealth: Living with Luxurious Fabrics, Abbeville Press, U.S., Thames and Hudson, UK |
| 1989 |
The Tactile Vessel: New Basket Forms, Erie Art Museum, PA |
| 1998 |
A Weaver's Memoir, Harry N. Abrams, NY
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| 2004 |
Jack Lenor Larsen: Creator & Collector exhibition catalog - By David McFadden, Lotus Stack, Mildred Friedman / Merrell Publishers.
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| TRUSTEE AFFILIATIONS
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| American Craft Council: |
Fellow, Trustee, President Emeritus |
| American Institute of Architects: |
Gold Medalist |
| American Society of Interior Designers: |
Associate Member, Honorary Fellow |
| Architectural League of New York: |
Past Vice-President |
| Arango Design Foundation: |
Trustee |
| Aspen Design Conference: |
Elliot Noyes Fellow |
| Centre International de la Tapisserie Ancienne et Moderne: |
CITAM Executive Committee |
| Cooper-Hewitt Museum: |
Decorative Arts Committee; Past Chairman |
| Contemporary Craft Association: |
Advisory Board |
| Craft & Folk Art Museum: |
International Advisory Committee |
| Cranbrook Academy of Art: |
Advisory Council |
| Crescent Spa, Dallas: |
Life Member; Board of Trustees |
| DIFFA: |
National Honorary Board of Trustees |
| Fashion Foundation: |
International Juror |
| Haystack School of Art: |
Honorary Trustee; Honorary Chairman |
| IFDA: |
Member, Wise Owl Award |
| Kendall College of Art & Design: |
Advisory Council |
| Metropolitan Museum of Art: |
Life Member; Visiting Committee, 20th Century Art |
| Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal: |
Advisory Council |
| National Endowment for the Arts: |
Design Arts Committee |
| New York School of Design |
Advisory Board |
| Omicron Nu: |
Honorary Member |
| Parsons School of Design: |
Honorary Ph.D. |
| Pilchuck Glass Center: |
International Advisory Council |
| Rhode Island School of Design: |
Honorary Ph.D., Advisory Committee |
| Royal Society of Art: |
Fellow; Honorary Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) |
| Society of Arts & Crafts: |
Past Trustee; Advisory Board |
| Surface Design: |
Life Member |
| Tama Art University, Japan |
Professor |
| The Textile Museum: |
Trustee Emeritus |
| University of Washington: |
Affiliate Professor; President's Club |
| World Craft Council: |
former Chief Delegate; Past President USA
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Permanent Collections with Larsen Fabrics Include:
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Stedelikj Museum of Art, Amsterdam
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Art Institute of Chicago
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Archives of American Art, Washington, DC
Museum Bellerive, Zurich
Kunstindustrietmuseum, Copenhagen
Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh
Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris/Lausanne/Montreal
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore
SELECTED AWARDS
| 1964 |
Gold Medal XIII Trienale di Milano |
| 1968 |
Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects |
| 1971 |
Elsie DeWolfe Award, American Institute of Interior Designers |
| 1978 |
Honorary Fellow ASID; Elliot Noyes Fellow, Aspen International Design Conference; Fellow, American Craft Council |
| 1980 |
Affiliate Professor, University of Washington |
| 1981 |
Doctor of Fine Arts - Honorus Causa, Parsons School of Design, New School of Social Research, New York |
| 1982 |
Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence |
| 1983 |
Honorary RDI (Royal Designer for Industry), Royal Society of Arts, London |
| 1984 |
Neiman-Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion |
| 1985 |
National Home Furnishings League "Wise Owl" Award |
| 1988 |
IFDA "Trailblazer" Award |
| 1989 |
Design & Art Society, Edith Warton Award for |
Excellence
| 1990 |
Interior Product Designers "Fellowship of Excellence" Award |
| 1991 |
Collab Award for Excellence in Design, Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| 1992 |
Color Marketing Group, Dimmick Award; Roscoe Award, Interior Design Magazine; Founder's Medal, Cranbrook Academy of Art |
| 1993 |
Brooklyn Museum Design Award for Lifetime Achievement; Interior Designers for Legislation in New York (IDLNY) "Distinguished Achievement" Award |
| 1994 |
Interior Design Magazine Roscoe Awards: Product of the Year; Best Residential Woven Fabrics - Fielding' |
| 1995 |
IIDA APEX Award; Textiles Category - Jacob's Ladder |
| 1996 |
Good Design Awards; Chicago Athenaeum - Award |
| 1996 |
ID Magazine; Best Product Award |
| 1996 |
American Craft Council; Gold Medal Award |
| 1996 |
Textile Design Institute Medal |
| 1999 |
World Design Award: Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame Award |
| 2000 |
Lifetime Achievement Award, American Crafts Museum |
| 2001 |
Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, New York School of Interior Design |
| 2003 |
Aid To Artisans Award For Innovation in Craft |
| 2003 |
Royal College of Art Honorary Doctorate |
| 2003 |
Russell Wright Award |
| 2003 |
Rhode Island School of Design Career Excellence Award |
| 2004 |
Cranbrook Academy of Art Founders Award |
| 2005 |
University of Washington Alumnus Award |
| 2005 |
The Textile Museum - George Hewitt Meyers Award |
Order the Book
World-renowned textile designer and weaver Jack Lenor Larsen reflects on his extraordinary life and career in this beautifully illustrated memoir. A graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Larsen founded his own textile design company in 1953.
Today, the Larsen name is synonymous with exquisite woven fabrics, epitomizing the point at which modernism, craft, and technology intersect.
The entertaining account is a window into the postwar design scene in America, in which Larsen recalls in wry detail his numerous clients and famous collaborators, among them architects Edward Larabee Barnes, Louis Kahn, and I.M. Pei.
Trained as a weaver, Larsen is not only an innovative textile artist but also an accomplished gardener and garden designer, a tireless traveler, a patron of younger artists, and an avid and astute collector and supporter of traditional and contemporary crafts.
The illustrations feature Larsen's incomparable fabrics; photographs of his commissions, homes and superb collections; and snapshots of friends, clients, and mentors.
To order your personalized copy, please click here.
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