The publishing house was founded in 1948 by Max Hirmer and his wife Aenne.

The subjects of Hirmer books span a wide range of areas from painting, photography, architecture, sculpture, drawing, to fashion, and the history of culture and include series of academic publications as well as extensive catalogues raisonnés.

[citation needed] Exhibition catalogues are also part of the publisher's program as well as authors' books, which are often prepared over a period of years and then developed and produced in-house.

The publishing house cooperates with Thames & Hudson and the University of Chicago Press.

In 2018, Hirmer Publishers was awarded with the Goldene Letter, the highest award of the international competition for the most beautiful books from all over the world, for Heimat, Handwerk und die Utopie des Alltäglichen.