NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s and Phaidon are hosting“100 Years of Creativity: A Century of Bookmaking at Phaidon,” an exhibition currently on view since September 5th, and continuing until September 18th, 2023 at Christie’s Rockefeller Center.

In celebration of the iconic illustrated publisher’s 100th anniversary, the exhibition will bring together over 150 of the most influential Phaidon books published from the 1920s to present day. Set to run alongside Christie’s marquee Asian Art Week, the New York exhibition will travel to London on October 15 -19, 2023.

Since its founding in 1923, Phaidon has been at the forefront of the creative arts, inventing the large-format illustrated artist monograph and publishing groundbreaking and award-winning books in collaboration with the world’s most influential creators and brands. “100 Years of Creativity” will commemorate the inspired work of authors who have changed culture at large, from Vincent van Gogh, whose 1951 Phaidon title was the first full-color, accessible artist monograph, to great thought leaders of today: Rihanna, Annie Leibovitz, Mickalene Thomas, Grace Coddington, Massimo Bottura,
JR, Nike, and Supreme, among many others. The exhibition will also examine the art of bookmaking through the lens of Phaidon’s signature boundary-pushing yet timeless designs.

“It is an honor for Christie’s to celebrate the centenary of Phaidon with whom we have had the pleasure of collaborating throughout the years. This fall Christie’s looks forward to welcoming collectors, scholars and art and design enthusiasts to our Rockefeller Center galleries so they can experience firsthand the rich and diverse world of this esteemed and pioneering publishing house.” – Bonnie Brennan, President, Christie’s Americas.

“A century after Phaidon’s formation, one thing hasn’t changed: our belief that books should enlighten, delight, and inspire. “100 Years of Creativity” will tell the story of how our books championed the great creative voices that defined the last 100 years.” – Keith Fox, CEO, Phaidon Press

The books in “100 Years of Creativity” will chart key milestones in publishing history. A first edition of E.H. Gombrich’s landmark The Story of Art (1950), which has sold more than 8 million copies in 40 languages, will appear alongside the recent bestseller Great (Women) Artists. A section dedicated to the acclaimed Contemporary Artist Series, Phaidon’s longest-running series of nearly 30 years and 108 books, will showcase early editions in the series such as Alex Katz, Nancy Spero, and Yayoi Kusama, alongside forthcoming publications from Rashid Johnson, KAWS, and Dana Schutz.

Limited edition entries include Rihanna: Luxury Supreme, an oversized edition of the 2019 book atop a bookstand sculpture designed by the Haas brothers that weighs 126 lbs (57 kg) and is plated in an 18-carat gold. Rare, out-of-print monographs from Phaidon’s archives include 1930s surveys and monographs on the Italian Renaissance, Velazquez, and Michelangelo.

Other categories feature beautiful books for children and innovative culinary titles, such as the Silver Spoon (2005), the seminal Italian cookbook that was printed in 15 languages and sold more than 1.5 million copies. Christie’s 2016 publication Going Once, marking 250 years of culture and collecting at the auction house, will be on view alongside leading artists, photographers, and designers including Nan Goldin, Yoshitomo Nara, Anni & Josef Albers, Paul Smith, Steven Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, and many more. A dedicated section on award-winning books such as Iro, the winner of the D&AD and the ADC Design Awards, will explore the multifaceted and unexpected forms that books can take.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a Phaidon anniversary book, also entitled 100 Years of Creativity. The hardcover

volume will present original, visual contributions from 100 living artists, writers, designers, architects, illustrators, and chefs previously published by Phaidon, including photographers Stephen Shore and Catherine Opie, chefs Ferran Adrià and Manu Buffara, artists Lorna Simpson and Sarah Sze, and designers Dieter Rams and Bruce Mau, among others. As a limited edition of 1,000 copies, the book will only be available as a gift from the publisher or via select anniversary partners.

Complementing the exhibition will be a Reading Room curated by interior designer Nina Magon, founder and principal of Nina Magon Studio. Author of the new book Evoke (Monacelli, October 2023), Magon will design an environment inspired by her forthcoming monograph, where guests can enjoy Phaidon and Monacelli titles, as well as a display of limited edition artworks from Phaidon and Artspace including editions by Yoshitomo Nara, Catherine Opie, Rashid Johnson, Jennifer Guidi, Harland Miller, and more.

Phaidon was founded in Vienna by Dr Béla Horovitz, Frederick “Fritz” Ungar, and Ludwig Goldscheider, who named the company after Phaedo of Elis, a pupil of Socrates. Their vision was to create elegantly produced, accessibly priced art books — something that had not been done before. Today, Phaidon is the leading global publisher in the creative arts with 50 million books sold in 40 languages and 1,500 titles in print.