History[edit]

Frieze was founded in 1991^[4][5] by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, with artist Tom Gidley.^[6][2][3] The inaugural issue featured a Damien Hirst butterfly painting as its cover, and the magazine became closely linked with the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s.^[6] Sharp and Slotover ceased direct involvement in editorial decisions in 2001.^[7] In 2003, the year that the Frieze Art Fair was founded, Sharp and Slotover assumed the roles of Publishing Directors of the magazine, and Directors of the fair.^[8]


From April 2011 to fall 2016, Frieze published Frieze d/e—a bilingual German/English quarterly magazine with its own editorial team and independent content. The magazine was edited and produced in Berlin.


In 2016, Endeavor acquired a reported 70%-controlling stake in Frieze, which includes its publishing, art fair and music interests. Simon Fox, formerly CEO of Reach plc, was appointed Frieze's first CEO on 2 April 2020.^[9]


In 2019, long-time Frieze editorial director and author, Jennifer Higgie, stepped down from the magazine. Former New York–based senior editor, Andrew Durbin, was then appointed Editor-in-Chief.