Madrid Chic

Assouline’s latest addition to the Chic Series takes the readers to the capital of Spain for an intimate look at this welcoming metropolis. With Madrid expert Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz as your guide, the who’s who of the city have opened their doors to offer a peek into their daily lives. The golden light that seems to blanket the city in warmth is impeccably captured through the lens of Oliver Pilcher and his original photography for this book. A celebration of cultural expression, gastronomy, and architecture, Madrid Chic invites readers to explore the vibrancy of the Spanish way of life.

Poetic accounts from Ernest Hemingway, Antonio Machado and Pablo Neruda are intermixed with insights from the prominent locals of today, such as Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Elena Foster, Sheila Loewe, and Pedro Almodóvar. Artworks by Velázquez and Goya are placed in conversation with creations by contemporary artists such as Jaume Plensa, Arturo Berned and Oscar Mariné. From the great aristocracy like the Duke of Alba to the best young artists such as Sandra Rojo Picón, Madrid Chic takes readers on a journey through the city’s most captivating places, immersing them in its vibrant spirit and renewed energy.

About The Author

Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, born in Madrid and a former United Nations diplomat, is an independent art curator for museums around the world. As an art critic and author, she has contributed to publications such as Spanish, Italian, German, and Mexican Vogue; The Art Newspaper and The Observer in the UK; Beaux Arts and L’Œil in France; El País and AD in Spain; and La Repubblica in Italy. She has written numerous books, including Balthus: In His Own Words; Santiago Calatrava; Fernando Botero; Jorge Luis Borges & María Kodama: The Infinite Encounter; and Sorolla: A Vision of Spain, all for Assouline. She has curated exhibitions in major institutions around the world on Rubens, Balthus, Fernando Botero, Santiago Calatrava, Manolo Blahnik, Picasso, and Nobel laureate (literature) Gao Xingjian. Over the years, she has worked with Arthemisia, Italy’s leading company for organizing art exhibitions, as well as photography archive-management company Iconic Images. Her work includes partnerships with galleries such as Marlborough in New York and White Cube in London and collaborations with many artists and architects, chief among them Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Ai Weiwei, Harland Miller, Tadao Ando, and Zaha Hadid.

Born in Scotland, Oliver Pilcher studied sculpture at the Edinburgh College of Art before embarking on a career in photography that has taken him all around the world and given him the opportunity to shoot for some of the world’s finest brands. Oliver has been a contributing photographer at Condé Nast Traveler for over ten years. He currently divides his time between New York and Costa Rica with his wife, Abigail, and their four children, Andalucia, Bianca, Constantina, and Herbie. He previously worked with Assouline on the best-selling Paris Chic (2020) and has contributed photos to Louis Vuitton Manufactures (2022), Riva Aquarama (2022), Saudi Coffee (2023), Saudi Dates (2023), New York Chic (2023), Budapest Gem (2024), AlUla Old Town (2024), and The Peninsula London (2024).