There are 2 other images of this object. See our image rights statement.
Object Timeline
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1959 |
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1973 |
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2001 |
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2013 |
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2014 |
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2015 |
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2025 |
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Textile, Primavera
This is a Textile. It was designed by Larsen Design Studio and Don Wight and produced by Jack Lenor Larsen Incorporated and printed by Taunus Textildruck Zimmer. It is dated 1959 and we acquired it in 1973. Its medium is cotton and its technique is hand screen printed on supplementary warp pile (velvet). It is a part of the Textiles department.
The intricate floral pattern for Primavera, inspired by the paintings of Gustav Klimt, took Jack Lenor Larsen and freelance artist Don Wight more than a year to perfect. With its exuberant clusters of small flower heads, shadowy leaves, and pulsing biomorphic shapes, all scattered freely against a ground of wavy stripes – the pattern had to be printed on a fabric that would show it to best advantage.
Sensuous velvet was the ideal medium for Primavera’s intoxicating design. But in the late 1950s, it was almost impossible to screen print complex patterns on traditional velvets, as the dye could not penetrate the thick pile. After extensive experimentation, Larsen’s studio successfully wove a cotton velvet, luxurious to the touch, with pile low enough to hand screen print with no loss of color intensity, a first in the American textile industry. In fact, in its day, Primavera was the most successful printed velvet in the industry. Today it remains an icon of the period.
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled The Effulgence of Country Gardens.
This object was
donated by
Jack Lenor Larsen.
It is credited Gift of Jack Lenor Larsen.
- Textile (Italy)
- silk, metallic.
- Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.
- 1902-1-385
- Made by Rain
- textiles (2).
- Courtesy of Aliki van der Kruijs.
- NATURE.008
Its dimensions are
H x W: 143.5 × 142.2 cm (56 1/2 × 56 in.) Repeat H x W: 91.4 × 121.9 cm (36 × 48 in.)
Cite this object as
Textile, Primavera; Designed by Larsen Design Studio (United States), Don Wight (American, 1924–1999); Printed by Taunus Textildruck Zimmer (Germany); Produced by Jack Lenor Larsen Incorporated (United States); USA; cotton; H x W: 143.5 × 142.2 cm (56 1/2 × 56 in.) Repeat H x W: 91.4 × 121.9 cm (36 × 48 in.); Gift of Jack Lenor Larsen; 1973-54-2
