Remoulade developed out of a hand-woven wall hanging Jack Lenor Larsen made during the summer of 1954 at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, where he remains an Honorary Chair. The original hanging, a weft-faced weave, used over seventy different yarns, including cotton, silk, wool, jute, and Lurex, inserted randomly, to create a richly textured surface.

Jack Lenor Larsen, hand-woven sample made at Haystack Mountain College, 1954

Jack Lenor Larsen, hand-woven sample made at Haystack Mountain College, 1954


To adapt the design for commercial production, Larsen turned it ninety degrees, so that the yarn variation was programed in the warp, and reduced the number of different yarns to twenty-seven. Initially hand-woven in the Larsen studio, the design won first prize in the American Institute of Decorators Home Furnishings Design Competition in 1955. Demand soon exceeded the studio’s weaving capacity, so Larsen found a a small mill in New Jersey run by Mr. Bolan, an Italian weaver who was willing to use techniques that slowed production, but preserved the the distinctive, hand-woven quality Larsen demanded. Remoulade is a perfect example of Larsen’s ethos of combining industrial and artisanal processes to create a uniquely beautiful product.
The fabric was introduced commercially as part of the Spice Garden collection. Larsen, an avid gardner, “collected dried flowers and pods through the Spice Island Company, consulted works at the New York Botanical Garden, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the medieval herb garden at the Cloisters.” A palette of hot colors was selected, and grouped under the headings Saffron (yellows), Paprika (reds) and Spice Fire (brilliant blues and greens).
Susan Brown is Associate Curator in the Textiles Department.

2 thoughts on “Adapting Art

Just as gorgeous and now classic as they were 60 years ago. Almost makes one swoon.

I am currently weaving a piece based off of Jack Lenor Larsen’s Brocade 832 703 Tangerine. I work as a commercial textile designer for Columbia SW. My role is to integrate inspirational textiles into commercially viable yardage.

In my own work, I love adapting JLL’s work to my own aesthetic. I have so many questions about what the back of this swatch looked like, why he chose the structure of this swatch.

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