Harvey Probber & Jack Lenor Larsen Happiness Sectional Sofa, Lacquer Red 1968 – Set of 3

Harvey Probber & Jack Lenor Larsen Happiness corner sectional sofa, lacquer red, 1968-1972. Gorgeous low slung modern sectional seating set of three. This is a truly extraordinary, museum-worthy set. Certain Larsen designs have captured the public’s imagination and are recognized as “signature” pieces. According to company records, the Happiness design was inspired by a Chinese robe and Ming Dynasty embroideries in the collection of the Henry Art Gallery of the University of Washington, where Larsen did his undergraduate work. It was introduced with four colorways – amethyst quartz, Ming gold, lacquer red and mandarin blue – as part of the 1968 Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan collection, which took a broader, thematic approach that utilized traditional patterns and imagery of Silk Road countries, from China to Uzbekistan. Happiness features the traditional Chinese motifs of clouds, waves, and rainbows that Larsen had seen on Ming dynasty embroideries. The original Happiness was a complex design requiring ten separate screens for its production. Production of Happiness fabric was complex and, depending on the colorway, ten to eleven print screens were required to achieve the crisply delineated and shaded colorings of the pattern. Almost all Larsen screenprints were produced by hand. The popularity of the happiness design led to its revival in 1972, when it appeared in two new colorways, Red and Red Earth. When they developed the Red Earth color-way they felt that it needed more delineation between color masses so they added black details. In order to achieve this effect they added one more screen and had to remake all of the originals. This sectional features the original Happiness design (without introduction of black screen print). Therefore we can date this sofa to the 1968-1972. Measures: End with no arm – 24 x 22 x 24” H Center curve – 32 x 60 x 24” H End/ corner piece – 32 x 32 x 24” H.