A Magical Evening at LongHouse in East Hampton
For those of you who may not know, Jack Lenor Larsen is an internationally known textile designer, author, and collector, who has received many awards and whose designs are in collections of international museums. It was a great honor when Jack visited Skylands, my home in Mount Desert Island, Maine a few weeks ago and this past Friday, I paid a reciprocal visit to LongHouse Reserve, Jack’s fantastic home in East Hampton, New York. The design of the house was inspired by a 7th century Shinto shrine and it sits upon 16 acres of fabulous gardens and incredible exhibits of art. Through its arboretum, sculpture gardens, and educational programs, LongHouse Reserve exemplifies living with art in all forms. I hope you enjoy this photo tour of a truly amazing and inspirational place!
1 On a weekend in the Hamptons, there is always so much to do, but I treated my friends to a visit to Longhouse, an extraordinary garden and museum.
2 Charlotte, Memrie and Billy had never visited this place and they were in for a treat!
3 After entering, you walk through a sand garden called Dunes, which is planted with specimens like spruce, cedar, and fir.
4 A picea orientalis 'Skylands' or Oriental spruce
5 Architecture, sculpure, trees, shrubs, and plants all co-exist in extraordinary harmony at LongHouse. These bronze pieces are called Three Graces - 1990 - Tkoshiko Takaezu
6 A weeping spruce
7 A subtle melding of color and texture abounds.
8 The Gateway Bell - 2003 - Toshiko Takaezu - to summon visitors
9 All the plantings seem to thrive in this sandy soil.
10 Looking through birch and linden, one catches a glimpse of a deep blue Dale Chihuly glass sculpture.
11 A George Rickey stainless steel sculpture called Four L's Excentric II, moves in the wind.
12 Jack Lenor Larsen built this house in 1986, finding inspiration in 7th century Shinto shrine at Ise in Japan, working with architect Charles Forberg.
13 There is even a shop for visitors to experience the extremely excellent taste of Larsen.
14 Some of the products offered are America's best crafts, like these modern interpretations of Chinese garden stools by Chicago artist Michael Jones.
15 This is the main entrance to LongHouse - very Japanese, indeed!
16 Graveled gardens set off bold designs.
17 Billy Beadleston, Charlotte Beers, Peter Olson (Jack's partner), and Memrie Lewis
18 Inside the house, everything is displayed amidst plants and flowers.
19 Jack has collected an amazing assortment of arts and crafts displayed on tables, in cases, on shelves, and on walls. There are hundreds of wonderful things to look at!
20 Japanese baskets on a Chinese table
21 Two Chinese chairs painted a drab color - very nice
22 A Danish glass blower recently created these two amazing globes for Jack's birthday.
23 Peter's Pond in full bloom directly in view of the Pavillion where we had drinks
24 A closer view of the Dale Chihuly 'sticks'
25 We went for a golf cart tour of the gardens. This hornbeam hedge nicely trimmed.
26 Fly's Eye Dome - 1998 - designed by Buckminster Fuller - fiberglass
27 A garden shed painted red for landscape interest
28 A twig bench of giant magnitude
29 Touring the Amphitheater - Stacks - 1994-2000 - Peter Voulkos - various dimensions - These look like clay stoves, but are actually cast in bronze.
30 Chinese Contemporary Warriors, a 2005 work by Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun - 25 identical bronze figures smiling maniacally as they cover their ears and squint their eyes
31 A closer look
32 A vast lawn and an evergreen shade garden inspired by Dan Hinckley - Untitled (Round forms) - 1985 - Grace Knowlton - steel, wire, Styrofoam, concrete
33 A better view of the round forms - We took a golf car tour right before sunset and with no other visitors, we had the entire park and Jack and Peter to ourselves!
34 A view back to the house - Every vista is different, yet interesting. Every way one looks there is something wonderful to see.
35 The Red Garden, which is flooded with red azaleas in the spring
36 Irregular Progression #7 the last Sol Lewitt cement sculpture towering in the garden
37 It looks like a small skyscraper city.
38 Black Mirror - a black pond with a cross hole in the center down which the water falls - eerie and fascinating - the water is dyed black!
39 The X - Ronald Bladen - 1965 - Edition 2/3 - Painted aluminum
40 A sculpture by Claus Bury called Bridge Summer - 1983 - cypress wood, Corten steel
41 Approaching the pyramid gardens
42 A monkey puzzle tree near the pyramids - Did you know there are three and four sided pyramids? These have three.
43 This fabricated pyramid will soon be covered with bottle gourd vines.
44 This is Kreye Canyon with Asperagi n. d. - Jim Owen - coiled stoneware with fiberglass.
45 Peggy's Path - "wood henge?" erected from some oak trees that died recently
46 A fabulous sculpture on a stone base - Tumbling Woman - 2002 - Eric Fischl - Bronze, cast
47 A tropical garden recently installed by Dennis Shrader of Landcraft Environmentals
48 These fastigiate hornbeams are shaped like giant eggs on sticks.
49 Another beautiful sculture - Fuyu - 2008 - Izumi Masatoshi - Swedish granite
50 Another entrance to LongHouse is surrounded by herb gardens.
51 Cobblestones set on edge
52 Another great statue - Standing Woman - 1932 - Gaston Lachaise - bronze
53 Back at the house - Jack's passion for textiles is evident throughout.
54 A metal and paper hanging
55 I loved this textile woven of metal.
56 Some early examples of Dale Chihuly's work
57 This monumental trio of bowls was my favorite thing in the house - 1980 Chihuly.
58 This pouch is woven entirely from shredded one hundred dollar bills!
59 Interesting baskets
60 This chair is covered in one of Jack's fabrics.
61 I tried out the chair, which was so comfy. That's Jack behind me.
62 Charlotte thought it was very comfortable, also.
63 The kitchen gets a lot of good use.
64 The kitchen counter was laden with vegetables and ripening fruits.
65 A vase with a lotus leaf, bud, flower, and seed pod
66 The lotus flower looks unreal.
67 The seed pod
68 The leaf - See why I must have a lotus pond?
69 Still life with figs
70 Still life with champagne grapes
71 Still life of glass
72 Still life with salt cellar of pink salt
73 Still life of smoked Nova Scotia salmon with dill and lemons
74 Still life of crusty bread
75 Departing a wonderful visit and a magical evening
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
What a beautiful and unique garden.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | August 28th, 2012 at 12:18 am
What an enchanting, magical place Jack Larson has created. Sixteen acres of heaven! The garden sculptures look so beautiful especially surrounded by all the various plantings. I also love the textiles. The metal and paper hanging in pic# 54 is extraordinary. Thank you Martha for bringing us along on a tour of Longhouse Reserve, and thank you to Jack Larsen and Peter for opening your lovely home and gardens to us!
Posted by: Cindy F | August 28th, 2012 at 7:28 am
truly inspiring....
Posted by: maurie todd | August 28th, 2012 at 7:41 am
Marth,
Thanks for sharing this blog very interesting.
Posted by: KLBrown | August 28th, 2012 at 9:13 am
Hi Martha, Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic blog about you and your delightful friends visiting Jack Lenor Larson's beautiful 16 acres of fabulous gardens and incredible exhibits of art! He is one outstanding fellow and how fun he visited you in Skylands, too! I'm sure that all of you had a wonderful visit there and I love being able to view all 75 of these stunning photos with delightful comments! I love all of the photos and you look so lovely in photo #61 with Jack and sitting in that beautiful chair! It sure would be fun to go there personally, but this tour is absolutely inspiring and delightful to view again and again! I love the website, Longhouse Reserve, and will view those photos ASAP! Where do we get to go next?! I just love seeing all of your beautiful homes and everything else you are so kind to share! You make me so happy every time I get to view all of these delightful blogs-thank you so much! Loved hearing you on SiriusXM110 live yesterday and look forward to hearing you on September 5th again! That date would have been my Mom's 98th birthday-bless her heart! Sure hope you have another great day! Off to see The Daily Wag with " Some of What We Did in Maine!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | August 28th, 2012 at 10:01 am
Thank you Martha.......
What a fantastic home. I really enjoyed the Dale Chihuly "Sticks". Such a visual pleasure to behold.
All the arts pieces were perfectly placed through out the property. That must be a challenge all in itself.
Posted by: Sharon | August 28th, 2012 at 10:10 am
Looks amazing. What a treat.
Posted by: Holiday Baker Man | August 28th, 2012 at 11:00 am
Hi Martha,
How many times did all of you say wow as you toured LongHouse? I think I said it with every picture. The gardens are so beautiful with the sculptures that you see everywhere and I like that so many things are displayed in the house. I really like picture #19 where all of the designs on the table seem as though they are part of the landscape that you see through the windows. Jack was definitely born with the exquisite taste gene and he knows just what to do with his collections. I love the blue glass Dale Chihuly sculpture and the graveled garden with the bold designs. So simple yet a fantastic eye catcher. Everything in that picture caught my eye. Were you ready for those Chinese Warriors all lined up! They are simply amazing. It looks like the items in #54 and #55 have been placed in sand on the table. That’s clever and different. I even liked picture #73, especially the carved lemons. I’m sure you all had a great time and that Jack and Peter were perfect hosts.
~
Just recently I looked at some of the weddings on your site and I remember seeing Charlotte Beers and Billy Beadleston’s among others. You made quite an entrance in coveralls and carrying your taffeta dress in picture #5. I hope this is the link and to check out other weddings too. http://bit.ly/Ot1f6i Trish
Posted by: Trish | August 28th, 2012 at 11:13 am
Just lovely! Thank you for thoughtful gift of including us on your journey.
Posted by: JenM | August 28th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
amazing place! thnx.
There is a large Yue Minjun sculpture in English Bay in Vancouver, BC. It was recently acquired as a permanent installation.
http://www.where.ca/west-coast/british-columbia/vancouver/hot-art-laugh-out-loud/
cheers
jake
Posted by: jake | August 28th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
I loved all of the photos: however, the pyramid with the gourds hanging is amazing!! We have tried to be creative with our garden this year....and that has given us some wonderful inspiration.
Our garden:
http://nantucketdaffodil.blogspot.com/2012/08/shadows-of-late-summer.html
Posted by: Nantucket Daffodil | August 28th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Hi, Martha,
Thank you for a very remarkable tour. Stunning pieces from the very largest to the smallest. I can imagine everyone from the PNW recognized the Chihuly right away. I hope you'll visit Tacoma to see all his glass installations throughout the city and visit the Glass Musuem. I think you'd thoroughly enjoy your visit.
Posted by: Bobbie | August 29th, 2012 at 1:34 am
Hello Martha and Friends,
Very good story. Who took the wonderful photographs? I'll keep on lookout for your next blog. Elena (East Hampton)
Posted by: Elena Prohaska Glinn | August 29th, 2012 at 11:58 am
This is beautiful romance between nature and art. The serenity of the gardens and the lucidity of the architecture exhumes a great ambiance. thank you Martha for sharing such a wonderful expedition.
Posted by: Terngu Kachina | August 29th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
I think Longhouse is such a magical place to visit, and enjoy many of the same exhibitions as you do. I just wanted to notate that you commented on the Fly's Eye Dome as being a design of R.Buckminster Fuller's, but neglected to give credit to the gentleman who actually produced the dome @Longhouse. His name is John Kuhtik and he not only reworked all the math equations to construct this particular size, he also hand made the original molds that were used. Conversely, Dale Chihuly (FABULOUS WORK!) designs his work, but from my understanding, doesn't actually produce it himself at this point in his career, but still gets his due credit as the creator of the art. (and may I add, rightly so) I just wanted to give credit where credit is due to a gentleman who has studied Fuller's work and is one of the few people today who is trying to keep Bucky's Fly's Eye Dome relevant. (it can be used for housing, greenhouse, swimming pool enclosure, etc. besides appreciating the object as art)
Posted by: susan tiscornia | August 29th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Wow, every photo was a visual delight. This post in particular shows why your blog is a must read: innovation and discovery showcased. I love the unexpectedly blue Chihully "sticks" in a surprising setting and the unexpectedly red outbuilding constrasting with natural green. I might just have to go through all of the photos again just for the pleasure of it.
Posted by: Karen | August 30th, 2012 at 1:28 am
Martha I love,love this place...I could Lose my Thoughts Very Easily.Thanx For Sharing:-)..
Posted by: Darlene Martinez | August 30th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
This place looks really amazing. I love the different landscapes.
Posted by: Hills Dale Home Front | August 31st, 2012 at 1:40 am
Hi Martha. I met you in San antonio we had lunch with your good friend Carlos Cortes. I now how much you like faux bois ,if you have the time please go to craigslist San Antonio...Rare Faux Bois table set.
Thanks,
Posted by: Gilbert Duran | September 6th, 2012 at 1:42 pm