The Story of Art Without Men

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.

“"[The Story of Art Without Men] should become a founding text in the history of art by women.... [I]nspiring and indispensable."”

"Excellent, authoritative, exuberant, and elegantly written." -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, on Twitter
"What Hessel achieves here is extraordinary . . . She covers a wide range of mediums (from silhouette papercutting to body art) and themes (including postcolonial narratives and queer pride). And though she keeps the focus on the women, she includes a few choice slurs by men as evidence of what these artists were—and are—up against . . . This [is a] spellbinding book." -- Margot Mifflin - Los Angeles Times
"[The Story of Art Without Men] should become a founding text in the history of art by women . . . Inspiring and indispensable." -- Bidisha Mamta - Guardian
"Sweeping . . . Part revisionist history, part coffee-table book, part collective portrait, part archival treasure hunt." -- Tiana Reid - New York Times
"A revelation and an important first step towards redressing the balance of an art world in which women have been sidelined." -- Katy Thompsett - Refinery29
"Katy Hessel presents art as you’ve never seen it before, with women in the spotlight—and without a Leonardo in sight." -- Rachel Campbell-Johnston - Times (London)
"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." -- Chloë Ashby - Spectator
"The Story of Art Without Men is an extraordinary achievement that will have a disruptive cultural legacy and help determine the landscape for years to come." -- Helena Lee - Harper’s Bazaar
"It’s a radical premise, rewriting history and upending the dominance men have held over so much of our culture. ([Hessel] includes sections on queer artists and artists of color, too.) Reading the book, I felt almost giddy as I reached each art-historical moment without the usual suspects mentioned." -- Grace Edquist - Vogue
"After reading The Story of Art Without Men, educators may aspire to redesign their art history surveys and syllabi—and trade some Picassos for Gegos." -- Nageen Shaikh - Hyperallergic
"An indispensable primer on the history of art, with an exclusive focus on women . . . A constructive, revelatory project . . . [and] an overdue upending of art historical discourse." -- Kirkus (starred review)
"I’d urge you to pick up [this] book, which is an extraordinary eye-opener, and very readable . . . We badly need books like Hessel’s." -- Hattie Crisell - Evening Standard
"This book has blown my mind. Really passionately recommend." -- India Knight - Sunday Times
"Hessel’s clear love for the history of art shines. She . . . embarks on nuanced, poetic visual descriptions with reverence and excitement, as if discovering her subjects for the first time. . . . The Story of Art Without Men is an invitation to constantly rethink art history and continue to fill in the gaps." -- Annabel Keenan - Artillery

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.

From Leonardo da Vinci to Jean-Michel Basquiat, the great painters and sculptures who have defined the fine art canon have largely been men. Katy Hessel seeks to right that wrong by cataloging, celebrating, and elevating women artists and placing their groundbreaking work in its historical, political, and cultural context. From the Renaissance to the present day, Hessel breaks down each time period and movement using a global lens, expanding the canon to include the work of non-Western artists, queer and racially marginalized artists, photographers, textile artists, and more. Discover the glittering Sofonisba Anguissola of the Renaissance and the radical work of Harriet Powers in the nineteenth century. Explore the Dutch Golden Age, the astonishing work of postwar artists in Latin America, and the women defining art in the 2020s. Featuring more than 100 works of art in color, The Story of Art Without Men is a timeless and essential addition to any library.

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