The Story of Art Without Men: An Illustrated Guide to Amazing Women Artists

by Katy Hessel, Ping Zhu (Illustrator)

An illustrated remix of Katy Hessel’s best-selling The Story of Art Without Men illuminates the works of women artists throughout history.

In The Story of Art Without Men, best-selling author and renowned art historian Katy Hessel journeys from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century, and across the globe, from Cornwall to Manhattan, Nigeria to Japan, to discover the stories of women who changed the world with their incredible art. She invites readers to explore the works of Sofonisba Anguissola, whose glittering Renaissance paintings blended art styles; Harriet Powers, a freewoman who quilted stories from her faith and her community; and Tarsila do Amaral, who painted her Brazilian culture to preserve it from colonization―and more than ninety other visionary women artists both famous and lesser known.

Buoyed by Ping Zhu’s dazzling illustrations and Katy Hessel’s signature sense of humor, The Story of Art Without Men upends our perspectives on art and its true masters―and cracks open the canon for women artists still to come.

Full color throughout

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Art

176 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Katy Hessel is a British art historian, broadcaster, writer and curator, living in London, whose work is concerned with women artists.

Hessel was born and raised in London. She studied art history at University College London.

She writes on the subject of women artists for various publications. She has written and presented the BBC arts documentaries Artemisia Gentileschi (2020) and Art on the BBC: Monet (2022).

She runs the Great Women Artists Instagram account and in 2019 created a podcast by the same name in which she interviews art historians, art curators, writers, and art lovers about women artists and also talks to women artists about their work and career.

In September 2022, Hessel published the book The Story of Art without Men, a 500-year survey of art by women. It won the 2022 Waterstones Book of the Year. Also in 2022 she became a curatorial trustee of Charleston.

Reviews

[Ellen]

n The Story of Art Without Men, Katy Hessel reimagines her groundbreaking 2023 work of the same name into a book for young readers (an age is not given, but I imagine it to be appropriate for upper elementary level readers). The book is full of charming, bright illustrations by Ping Zhu, and in addition to featuring famous and not-so-famous female artists throughout history, there are captions with bits of history applicable to each artist and time period, as well as prompts encouraging the reader to engage with the art.

What I loved about this book was the cheerful, lighthearted narrative which provided information and defined common art terms without being condescending (“Did you know that back then paint tubes didn’t exist, so artists had to crush rocks into powder. They added water or egg whites to make a liquid paint.”). Ms. Hessel also inserted her own views in simple language (“I really like the way the girl is looking at her sister. It reminds me of how I idolized my own sisters.”) No undefined big words or “art speak” here!

I think this would be an excellent book for all young readers, but especially so in a school setting when students have the opportunity to share their thoughts with others. Many thanks to Norton and NetGalley for giving me this opportunity to read this advance reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.

[Anna]

The Story of Art Without Men is beautiful, vibrant, and inspiring. While geared towards younger readers (and I haven’t read the grown-up version of this book), I believe anyone of any age can appreciate and learn something from this book. The conversational writing, the descriptions of the time periods and influence on artists as well as questions and prompts to encourage young artists work well. This feels like an approachable and down-to-earth history of art that spans centuries and continents. The highlighted artists and their works showcase a range of styles and Hessel gives the reader insights into appreciating the artist and their works even if it’s something unfamiliar, unusual and/or not to your tastes :) This is largely organized chronologically, but this is also the kind of book that you don’t need to follow in a linear fashion. You can jump from section to section or pause on the pages that capture your attention. What a great introduction and reintroduction to some incredible women and their art.

Many thanks to W. W. Norton and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

[miki larson]

The majority of art shown in galleries and told in art history class is that of men. But what of the women throughout history? This is an incredible art history guide empowering women artists throughout history, telling the stories of their work and highlighting lesser known art movements. Though this is meant for kids, I think this is a helpful and easy to understand guide for adults as well!

[Sandra]

Better than the adult edition. Probably a good addition to most children's art collections. While I wish it addressed colonialism and art more, it still has a number of artists that aren't included in other titles.