Assouline

Photographed in their New York office, this portrait photography session with the Assouline family offers a glimpse into the world behind one of the most influential luxury publishing houses. Founded by Prosper and Martine Assouline, with their son Alex Assouline, the family has shaped a distinctive vision of publishing at the intersection of culture, design, travel, and art.

Assouline Publishing is a book publisher and luxury lifestyle company founded in 1994 by Prosper and Martine Assouline. It has published more than 1,700 titles on subjects including architecture, art, design, fashion, gastronomy, lifestyle, photography, and travel. Beginning in the 2010s the company has branched out to designing, producing, and selling furniture, accessories, and luxury gifts, and to creating bespoke furnished and accessorized libraries for individuals and hotels.

Rather than a traditional corporate portrait, the session was conceived as a more intimate and editorial approach to portrait photography, capturing presence, personality, and creative legacy. Surrounded by books, objects, and the quiet energy of their workspace, the portraits reflect the intellectual and aesthetic universe that defines Assouline Publishing.

Light, composition, and posture were kept deliberately simple, allowing expressions and interactions to guide the images. The goal was to create portraits that feel both personal and timeless — images that speak to authorship, heritage, and the enduring relationship between people and the work they create.

This portrait photography series explores identity through environment, portraying a family whose influence extends far beyond publishing, and whose visual language has become synonymous with contemporary luxury culture.