About LongHouse Reserve

LongHouse Reserve is a 16-acre integrated environment in East Hampton, New York, created by artist, collector and world-renowned textile designer and weaver Jack Lenor Larsen (1927-2020), serving the community with vast open space, programs in art, nature, and wellness, and providing a sanctuary for Long Island and beyond. The sculpture garden, featuring more than 60 outdoor works, encourages exploration and contemplation for new and repeat visitors alike.  As of this year, the garden is fully open to the public for education and enjoyment, with a next chapter of activating Larsen’s home (a modernist structure based on the Shinto Shrine at Ise) and displaying the extensive craft and design collections. 

Jack Lenor Larsen designed and built LongHouse as a case study to exemplify a creative approach to contemporary life. He believed visitors experiencing art in living spaces have a unique learning experience.

When he acquired the property in 1975, Larsen began to lay out an entrance drive lined with majestic cryptomerias, established lawns and ornamental borders, and defined major spaces as settings for plant collections and sculpture. 

The long, low berms that divide the property recall the boundaries of farm fields that occupied the site until it was abandoned for agricultural use in the 19th century. Much of the deciduous canopy of second growth native trees has been preserved. The gardens present the designed landscape as an art form, demonstrate planting potentials in this climate with a wide variety of natural and cultivated species, and offer a diversity of sites for the sculpture installations. 

Finding inspiration in the 7th-century Shinto shrine at Ise, Japan, Larsen decided to build the house on the property in 1986. LongHouse was designed by Larsen in collaboration with architect Charles Forberg and built by Joe Tufariello. 

Diversity Statement

LongHouse Reserve is committed to equity, diversity, anti-racism, and access through its mission, collections, programs, policies, and communications, and to expanding diversity at all levels of the organization.  Our staff, trustees, committees, and volunteers share this commitment.  

We pledge to reflect the diversity of the community we serve in terms of our education initiatives, programming, and installations, in order to facilitate meaningful interaction and lasting relationships.  We pledge to make all feel welcome and instill a sense of belonging. 

We recognize that this work is ongoing and will evolve over time.

Annual Report

Download our 2024 Annual Report.