Katy Hessel: The Story of Art without Men

“I’ll show you what a woman can do.” – Artemisia Gentileschi, 1649

Through her work on The Great Women Artists Instagram and Podcast and her new book The Story of Art without Men published by WW Norton (2 May 2023), Katy Hessel has taken major steps to rewrite the art history, from Hildegard of Bingen to Flora Yukhnovich, that has historically been dominated by men. Instead, Hessel’s work highlights underrepresented stories, and works of art made by women over the last 500 years. Like the exhibition Put It This Way: (Re)Visions of the Hirshhorn Collection, currently on view on the Museum’s third floor, The Story of Art without Men investigates the relationship between art and gender, and foregrounds women within the larger story of art.

Hessel joined Hirshhorn associate curator Anne Reeve for a conversation about The Story of Art without Men and how select artists on view in Put It This Way have made a mark on modern and contemporary art history.

Challenge yourself! How many women artists can you name? How many women artists who were working before 1900?

This program was presented in conjunction with Put It This Way: (Re)Visions of the Hirshhorn Collection.