The Story of Art without Men

OUT NOW: How to Live an Artful Life, Katy Hessel's new guide to finding art in the everyday
WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now available: The Story of Art Without Men, illustrated edition 'A long overdue, revisionist history of art by the brilliant Katy Hessel . . . Never stuffy or supercilious, Hessel's book is a revelation and an important first step towards redressing the balance of an art world in which women have been sidelined, stepped over and trampled upon for far too long.' REFINERY29 'An extraordinary achievement that will have a disruptive cultural legacy and help deter­mine the landscape for years to come.' HARPER'S BAZAAR 'Katy Hessel is a brilliant chronicler of the overlooked. I am so thrilled this book exists as an empowering, enlightening guide to the unforgettable vision of these brilliant artists. Essential reading.' ELIZABETH DAY 'Will change the history of art . . . thank God.' TRACEY EMIN 'I was not aware how hungry I was for this book until I dropped everything and ate it from cover to cover. I was not aware how angry I was that this book did not exist until it existed. It's an urgently needed, un-put-downable, joyful, insightful, glorious, perspective-shifting revision of the Story of Art.' ES DEVLIN
__________________________________ 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? Have your sense of art history overturned, and your eyes opened to many art forms often overlooked or dismissed. From the Cornish coast to Manhattan, Nigeria to Japan, this is the story of art for our times - one with women at its heart, brought together for the first time by the creator of @thegreatwomenartists. __________________________________ 'A spirited, inspiring, brilliantly illustrated history of female artistic endeavour . . . The Story of Art Without Men should be on the reading list of every A-level and university art history course and on the front table of every museum and gallery shop.' LAURA FREEMAN, THE TIMES 'Passionate, enthusiastic and witty . . . I wish I had had this book as a teenager' THE I Sunday Times bestseller, January 2023

Katy Hessel is an art historian and the author of The Story of Art without Men, the international bestseller and Waterstones Book of the Year 2022. Her second book for adults, How to Live an Artful Life, was published in 2025; her first book for younger readers, The Story of Art without Men: An illustrated guide to amazing women artists, was published in 2026. She runs @thegreatwomenartists on Instagram, hosts The Great Women Artists Podcast and is a columnist for the Guardian. Hessel is a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University and a Trustee of Charleston. In 2024, she launched Museums Without Men, an audio series highlighting works by women artists in museum collections worldwide, such as The Met and Tate Britain.