W&J Sloane Mid-Century Modern Sofa with Jack Lenor Larsen Velvet, ca. 1970

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.

For 140 years, W. & J. Sloane was the furniture manufacturer of choice for the American elite. The company’s clientele included John D. Rockefeller and the White House. Vintage W. & J. Sloane lounge chairs, sofas and club chairs luxuriously combine the best of mid-century modern with the opulence of Louis XV style. 

Scottish immigrant William Sloane founded the company in New York in 1843. Sloane was from the town of Kilmarnock, which was famous for its fine furniture and carpets. His younger brother, John, joined the company in 1852 and the name was changed to W. & J. Sloane to represent both siblings. Sloane’s son, Douglas, joined soon after.

W. & J. Sloane rose to prominence by importing beautiful Persian carpets to the United States. It was the first company to do so. This garnered the attention of wealthy New York families, including the Whitneys and Vanderbilts. In the late 1800s, W. & J. Sloane began producing its own furniture. It added an antiques department and opened a decorating and upholstery department.

Over the first half of the 20th century, W. & J. Sloane continued to decorate for prominent families while also working on Hollywood movie sets and automobile interiors. The company established a branch in San Francisco and acquired the upscale California Furniture Company. During World War II, the company received contracts for the interior design of United States Navy Liberty ships. 

Chef Julia Child worked at the company in 1935, and during the early 1950s, the firm employed Arthur Elrod, an immensely influential decorator who played an integral role in defining mid-century modernist interiors in Palm Springs. By the mid-1950s, ownership of the company was no longer in the hands of the Sloane family.

In 1983, W. & J. Sloane shuttered its downtown Washington store, which was followed by the closure of its flagship New York store in 1984.

On 1stDibs, find vintage W. & J. Sloane seating, case pieces and more.