尼古拉斯•佩夫斯納（1902—1983）是20世紀最著名的藝術和建築史學傢。1902年他生於德國，在萊比锡[Leipzig]接受教育，1924年獲藝術和建築史博士學位，先後與萊比锡、慕尼黑、柏林和法蘭剋福有過聯係。他曾在德纍斯頓美術館任職5年，1929—1933年在哥廷根大學任講師，同時專攻英國藝術史；1935年移居英國，曾任倫敦大學伯剋貝剋學院藝術史教授，1949—1955年任劍橋聖約翰學院斯萊德教授和董事。

自《企鵝藝術建築史叢書》創刊以來，他就任編輯。他還任共捲四十六的《英國建築》編輯，並按郡的順序撰寫瞭其中三十八捲。他是英國建築師協會皇傢金奬獲得者，是萊斯特、約剋、利茲以及牛津大學的榮譽博士獲得者，還是聖約翰學院榮譽董事、《建築評論》編輯部理事。

他的著作《矯飾主義和巴洛剋風格的意大利繪畫》[Italian Painting of Mannerism and Baroque]被認為是一部經典之作，另有《英國工業藝術探索》[An Inquiry into Industrial Art in England]、《德國巴洛剋風格雕塑》[German Baroque Sculpture]、《維多利亞盛期風格設計》[High Victorian Design]、《現代藝術的源泉》[Sources of Modern Art]、《英國美術的英國性》[The Englishness of English Art]（雷斯講座，1955年）以及《現代設計的先驅者》[Pioneers of Modern Design]等著作。最後兩部著作由企鵝齣版社齣版。同時他也是《企鵝建築學詞典》的閤著者之一，為普及大眾美術史做齣瞭傑齣的貢獻。

One of the most widely read boks on European architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner’s landmark work was first published in 1942. Through several revisions and updates during Pevsner’s lifetime, it continued to be a seminal essay on the subject, and even after his death, it remains as stimulating as it was back in the mid-twentieth century.

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902–1983) was one of the twentieth century’s most learned and stimulating writers on art and architecture. He established his reputation with Pioneers of Modern Design, though he is probably best known for his celebrated series of guides, The Buildings of England, acknowledged as one of the great achievements of twentieth-century scholarship. He was also founding editor of The Pelican History of Art, the most comprehensive and scholarly history of art ever published in English.

A revised and updated full-color edition of the classic study of the history of European architecture