The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel

In this long-awaited publication, we finally learn about the other half. Katy Hessel completely rewrites our understanding of art history, starting with Plautilla Nelli, the first known Florentine female Renaissance artist, through basically yesterday. This is a mind blowing, incredibly important and fantastic read.

Instant New York Times bestseller.
One of Vanity Fair's Favorite Books to Gift • One of PureWow's 42 Books to Gift This Year • One of Kirkus's Best Books of 2023.

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.