by Katy Hessel
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2023
512 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
The story of art as it's never been told before, from the Renaissance to the present day, with more than 300 works of art.
How many women artists do you know? Who makes art history? Did women even work as artists before the twentieth century? And what is the Baroque anyway?
Guided by Katy Hessel, art historian and founder of @thegreatwomenartists, discover the glittering paintings by Sofonisba Anguissola of the Renaissance, the radical work of Harriet Powers in the nineteenth-century United States and the artist who really invented the "readymade." Explore the Dutch Golden Age, the astonishing work of postwar artists in Latin America, and the women defining art in the 2020s. Have your sense of art history overturned and your eyes opened to many artforms often ignored or dismissed. From the Cornish coast to Manhattan, Nigeria to Japan, this is the history of art as it's never been told before.
"An indispensable primer on the history of art, with an exclusive focus on women...An overdue upending of art historical discourse." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[The Story of Art Without Men] should become a founding text in the history of art by women.… [I]nspiring and indispensable."
―The Guardian
"A revelation and an important first step towards redressing the balance of an art world in which women have been sidelined."
―Refinery29
"Katy Hessel presents art as you've never seen it before, with women in the spotlight―and without a Leonardo in sight."
―The Times (UK)
"There's still some way to go until the gender imbalance is totally redressed, but The Story of Art Without Men, which describes how women achieved artistic excellence against colossal odds, has firmly cracked open the canon."
―The Spectator (UK)
"Excellent authoritative exuberant and elegantly written."
―Simon Sebag Montefiore, on Twitter
This information about The Story of Art Without Men was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Katy Hessel is an art historian, presenter, and curator dedicated to celebrating female artists. The founder of @thegreatwomenartists on Instagram and the podcast of the same name, she lives in London.
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