Phaidon Press announces the acquisition of illustrated book publisher The Monacelli Press

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Phaidon, the world's premier publisher of the creative arts, announced today that it has acquired The Monacelli Press, a leading publisher of illustrated books on architecture, design, and the arts. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Based in New York City, The Monacelli Press was founded in 1994 by Gianfranco Monacelli and launched with the seminal title S,M,L,XL (1995) by Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau. This groundbreaking monograph remains unsurpassed in its influence on design.

Since then, The Monacelli Press has published more than 400 books on architecture, fine arts, interior design, landscape and gardens, photography, and graphic design in collaboration with prominent figures in those fields. Among them are architects Robert A.M. Stern, Henry N. Cobb, Rafael Moneo, SHoP, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; interior designers Thomas Jayne, Ellie Cullman, Suzanne Tucker, and Matthew Patrick Smyth; and landscape designers Piet Oudolf, Michael Van Valkenburgh, Raymond Jungles, Edmund Hollander, and Kate Orff.

In 2015, Monacelli launched Monacelli Studio, an applied arts imprint focused on art instruction, photography technique, and crafts. Monacelli Studio has published leading artists and instructors including Juliette Aristides, Steven B. Reddy, J. C. Amberlyn, Roberto Osti, Robert Zeller, Mario Andres Robinson, and Brenda Tharp.

"The Monacelli Press's portfolio is an exciting opportunity to accelerate our growth and expand into new categories where they have excelled for the past twenty-five years," said Keith Fox, CEO of Phaidon. "The acquisition reinforces our commitment to publish the most distinguished authors and create highly designed and edited books that inspire generations of readers."

"I am delighted that Phaidon will be the new owner of The Monacelli Press. After twenty-five years of publishing influential books that have challenged the conventions of traditional publishing, I cannot think of a better company than Phaidon to carry on our program of provocative and essential titles, and to take the Press to the next level," said Gianfranco Monacelli, founder and CEO of The Monacelli Press.

Under Phaidon, The Monacelli Press will continue as a separate imprint and brand, and all staff will relocate to Phaidon's office in New York City.

The Phaidon Global portfolio includes: Phaidon Press, the premier global publisher of the creative arts with over 1,500 titles in print; and Artspace, the leading ecommerce platform in the arts. Phaidon is headquartered in London and New York City and Artspace is based in New York City.

SOURCE Phaidon Press Inc.