Jack Lenor Larsen was a celebrated American mid-century modern textile designer born in Seattle. He fostered connections throughout the design and architecture industries beginning in 1950, and today, his influential eponymous design company is widely recognized for its muted hand-spun textured textiles. Larsen manufactured fabrics all over the world for more than six decades, using both traditional and modern weaving techniques.
Larsen initially studied in the architecture program at the University of Washington before he quickly realized he was instead interested in furniture design and interiors. He earned his MFA in 1949 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art — the go-to art school for design stars of the mid-20th century. The following year he moved and opened a studio in New York City where he launched his career.
For one of his first commissions, which was to design curtains for the Lever House — a New York City icon designed by Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois — Larsen created a linen and gold metal-themed weave to complement the building’s famed glass walls. He designed similarly magnificent textiles for the Phoenix Opera House, the Wolf Trap Theater and more.
Nowhere is Larsen’s profound impact on textile design more evident than at LongHouse Reserve, his house in East Hampton, New York. Modeled after a seventh-century Shinto Shrine, the home and its surrounding sculpture gardens opened to the public in 1992.
Larsen built LongHouse Reserve in collaboration with Charles Forberg. The property features sliding panels that showcase the revered artisan’s fabrics as well as works by Lucie Rie, Wharton Esherick, and Edward Wormley. The gardens feature sculptures by Willem de Kooning, Sol LeWitt and Yoko Ono.
Larsen had a solo exhibit at the Louvre in 1981. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Find vintage Jack Lenor Larsen lounge chairs, sofas, and dining room chairs on 1stDibs.
W 151 in L 155 in
Vintage Mid-Century Modern Flat-Weave Rug
Located in New York, NY
The Mid-Century Modern collection is skillfully sourced by N A S I R I and exclusive to our showroom. These flat-weaves embody the Minimalist sophistication that emerged in the mid-2...
Wool
W 72.05 in L 251.97 in
Vintage Edward Fields Carpet after a Design by Marion Dorn
By Edward Fields
Located in Milan, IT
Edward Fields has been creating bespoke luxury floor coverings in New York since 1930. His carpets are known for their unparalleled design, quality and craftsmanship. Among it's many prestigious commissions there is a carpet installed in the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House, under specifications of First Lady's Jacqueline Kennedy's interior designer. Marion V. Dorn (1899-1964) was originally trained as a painter and this led her to develop her skills as a textile designer. During her formative years she worked in Paris and New York, and it was at the 1925 'Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes' in Paris that she first encountered the modernist rug designs of Ivan da Silva Bruhns and Maurice Dufrene. By 1930 she began her association with the Wilton Royal Carpet...
Wool
W 79.53 in L 73.23 in
Carpet Produced in Sweden, 1960's
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Carpet Produced in Sweden, 1960's Additional Information: Style: Mid century, Scandinavian Dimensions (W x D): 202 x 186 cm Condition: Good vintage condition, with signs of usage
Wool
W 142 in L 181 in
Traditional Inspired Rug by Doris Leslie Blau
By Doris Leslie Blau
Located in New York, NY
Traditional Inspired rug by Doris Leslie Blau Size: 11'10" × 15'1" (360 × 459 cm) A new, traditional style hand-knotted wool rug made in India...
Wool
W 52 in L 76 in
1950's Turkish Angora Wool Carpet with Modern Style
Located in Dallas, TX
53841 Vintage Turkish Angora Wool Kilim Blanket Rug, 04'04 x 06'04. Woven like a breath of the Anatolian wind, this handwoven Turkish Angora kilim rug ripples with the quiet rhythm o...
Wool
W 22.45 in L 43.71 in
Vintage German Modern Rug, 1960s, 1C831
Located in Bordeaux, FR
Vintage German Modern rug in grey shade. The rug has been made in the end of 20th century. It is in original good condition. The rug is machine made. -condition: original good, ...
Nylon, Acrylic
W 56 in L 79 in
1950's Turkish Angora Wool Carpet with Modern Style
Located in Dallas, TX
53840 Vintage Turkish Angora Wool Kilim Blanket Rug, 04'08 x 06'07. Woven in silence beneath the sky-wide stillness of Eastern Anatolia, this handwoven Turkish Angora kilim...
Wool, Angora
W 82 in L 118 in
Mid 20th Century Scandinavian Half Pile Carpet
Located in New York, NY
Handwoven 9'10" x 6'10" (300 x 208 cm)
Wool
W 51 in L 72 in
1950's Turkish Angora Wool Carpet with Modern Style
Located in Dallas, TX
53844 Vintage Turkish Angora Wool Kilim Blanket Rug, 04'03 x 06'00. A wild hush rolls through the hills of southeastern Turkey, captured in the shifting stripes of this handwoven Tur...
Wool, Angora
W 52 in L 78 in
1950's Turkish Angora Wool Carpet with Modern Style
Located in Dallas, TX
53845 Vintage Turkish Angora Wool Kilim Blanket Rug, 04'04 x 06'06. Woven in the highlands of southeastern Turkey, where mountain winds whisper through goat pastures and time moves w...
Wool, Angora
Barbro Nilsson "Randig Med Tvist" Carpet
By Barbro Lundberg Nilsson
Located in Pawtucket, RI
A graphic and beautifully colored handwoven wool Randig Med Tvist flat-weave carpet by Swedish textile artist Barbro Nilsson for Marta Maas-Fjetterstrom...
Wool
Swedish Flatweave Carpet
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Swedish wool flatweave carpet circa 1950's. Signed with woven initials.
Wool
Graphic Hand Woven Shaker Textile
By Shakers
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Late 19th or early 20th century Shaker textile with colorful and graphic horizontal bands and scalloped border. Ohio/Pennsylvania origin. Professio...
Wool
Large Stig Lindberg Vase for Gustavsberg
By Stig Lindberg
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Unusually large and decorated Stig Lindberg vase with an optical pattern in a different colorway on either side of the vase. Signed to underside.
Ceramic
Angelo Testa Print on Canvas
By Angelo Testa
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Whimsical print on canvas by noted artist and textile designer Angelo Testa. Large print depicting dogs and other biomorphic shaped animals.
Canvas
Richard Blow for Montici Onyx Coffee Table
By Montici, Richard Blow
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Rarely seen 1950's Richard Blow for Montici Onyx and Brass coffee table. Beautiful and expressive stone top on Brass legs. Signed with Montici glass "M" and stamped "Made in Italy" o...
Onyx, Brass
