Phaidon: past, present, future
One hundred years ago, Phaidon invented the art book
Phaidon was founded in Vienna by Dr. Béla Horovitz, Frederick ‘Fritz’ Ungar, and Ludwig Goldscheider. Their vision was to create elegantly produced, accessibly priced art books – something that had not been done before.
Following pioneering artist monographs and E.H. Gombrich’s landmark The Story of Art, Phaidon expanded its focus with the Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture and iconic cookbook The Silver Spoon. We’ve since published best-selling, ground-breaking, and award-winning books in collaboration with the world’s most influential creators and brands – from Rihanna, Annie Leibovitz, and Mickalene Thomas to Massimo Bottura, JR, and Nike.
Today, Phaidon is the leading global publisher in the creative arts, with fifty million books sold in forty languages. Our innovative books on art, architecture, design, fashion, food, home and garden, and photography, as well as children’s books, are renowned for their outstanding design and content. Phaidon has also grown to include the e-commerce site Artspace and prestigious publishing house The Monacelli Press.
A century after Phaidon’s foundation, one thing hasn’t changed: the belief that books should enlighten, delight, and inspire. We pride ourselves on providing a global platform for creative expression and elevating our books into an art form themselves. We look forward to the next one hundred years.
Contact Us
Click here to download a letter from Phaidon CEO Keith Fox.
Click here to read the 100th anniversary press release.
For press inquiries, please contact press@phaidon.com
For sales inquiries, please contact sales@phaidon.com
The books that made Phaidon famous
Success, past and present, is a constant on our continually evolving publishing list. Read our stories about the iconic books and the new categories that have kept Phaidon fascinating for 100 years.
Art 100
Tracing the golden line of Phaidon art books from 1923 to 2023
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Food 100
Our food and drinks books are the epitome of good taste
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Kids 100
Encouraging creativity for your generation and the next
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Interiors 100
Phaidon's ever expanding interiors list is the latest success in our 100 year history
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Architecture 100
Minimalists, maximalists, brutalists and postmodernists - Phaidon’s architecture list is the best looking on the block
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Photography 100
Fashion, fine art, underwater worlds and the human experience - our photography list always captures the decisive moment
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Fashion & Pop Culture 100
How couture, culture and creativity got a well-considered makeover on our publishing list
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Design 100
The best designs in the world deserve the best-designed books in the world. Here are just a few of them
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Garden 100
Planted in fertile soil, Phaidon's garden books quickly came into bloom
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Better Living 100
Smart advice on partying, gifting, and eating well, self-help for home and office life, alongside pithy words of artistic wisdom
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