Booksmith is thrilled to host Katy Hessel for her instant Sunday Times bestseller in the United Kingdom, The Story of Art Without Men, which, through 300 works of art from the Renaissance to present day, tells the much-told story of art as it's never been told. She'll be in conversation with Bridget Quinn, author of Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order), and She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage. Please join us!

PLEASE NOTE: This event is SOLD OUT. We may have additional tickets available at the door, and if so those will be released at 7:15pm on a first-come, first-served basis, with walk-ups having no guarantee of admission. If you would like a signed copy of The Story of Art Without Men order here and we will hold them for pickup at the shop or send them directly to you.

Please note:

• Masks will be required throughout the duration of the event, capacity will be limited to allow indoor distancing, and we'll have extra ventilation in place. Protocols are subject to change.
• Because we’re limiting capacity, we can't guarantee we'll have space for walk-ins. The best way to ensure you’ll get a seat is to order the Book + Seat ticket through this link.
• We are happy to offer *signed copies* of The Story of Art Without Men: order a Book + Seat ticket bundle if you'd like to pick up a signed copy at the event, or order here if you just want a signed copy and no admission.
• If we feel it is not safe to gather, as the event gets closer, we will pivot to a virtual event and your registration will remain valid.
• Questions? Write events@booksmith.com.

About the book

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.

About the authors

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. Photo: Katy Hessel at The London Library by Ameena Rojee.

Bridget Quinn is a writer, art historian, and critic. She’s the author of the award-winning Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order), and She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, illustrated by one hundred women artists. She's a regular contributor to the “infectiously ill-tempered” (Peter Schjeldahl, New Yorker) arts magazine Hyperallergic, and a sought-after speaker on women and art. Her next book, Portrait of a Woman: Art, Rivalry & Revolution in the Life of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard is forthcoming in February. Photo: Amy Perl.