The Story of Art Without Men (by Katy Hessel)

I absolutely adored this - I've been raving about it to everyone for weeks.  An overview of art history with a focus on the female artists who have been systematically overlooked for decades, with beautiful illustrations of all their work.

A friend asked "is it well written?" and I said "eeeehhh...?" To be clear, it's not bad. It's accessible and interesting throughout.  It goes for breadth more than depth - most artists get a sentence or two. But I was introduced to so many artists, and found their stories fascinating.  

Many female artists died in childbirth or who were forced to give up art for marriage. Women were not allowed into life drawing classes until the 19th century, but they pioneered still life, quilting, and photography. The first painting of an artist at their easel in history is by a woman. One man in the 16th century raised 11 children while his wife ran a successful art studio.  After Jackson Pollock died, his artist wife Lee Krasner was able to paint large-scale works in the barn instead of being shoved into a small space in the house. 

If you're at all interested in art, I highly recommend this - and it would make a gorgeous coffee table book too, as it's easy to pick up and flip through at any point, to learn about some amazing artist and her work.

This also represents my final Read Harder Challenge book, for the category "a book about little-known history."  The 2026 challenge is out, if anyone is interested!  Most dreading: romantasy.  My two least favorite genres shoved together. But I'll make it through.