Katy Hessel: The Story of Art Without Men

How many women artists do you know? Who makes art history? And what is the Baroque anyway?

Enter art historian and curator Katy Hessel’s The Story of Art Without Men, a response to E.H. Gombrich’s classic chronicle, The Story of Art, first published in 1950, which was recently updated to include… one woman.

Katy’s revisionist history builds on her popular podcast and Instagram account, The Great Women Artists, where her fresh approach has garnered fans worldwide and earned her a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.

Overturn art history as you know it with Katy, in conversation with curator Beatrice Gralton.

Beatrice Gralton is senior curator of contemporary Australian art and Brett Whiteley Studio at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. With over twenty years in Australian and international art museum roles, Beatrice has extensive collection management, exhibition production, commissioning and publishing experience. At the Art Gallery, she has curated Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio (touring 2024–25), Brett Whiteley: Chapters 1959–69 (2023–24), The National 4: Australian Art Now (2023) and Brett Whiteley: Eternity is Now (2022–23).

As head curator of visual art (2017–20) and curator of visual art (2012–17) at Carriageworks, Beatrice was responsible for major multidisciplinary projects, performances and exhibitions. She has held curatorial roles at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, Washington, DC (2008–12) and the National Gallery of Australia (1999–2007). Beatrice has a degree in art history and curatorship with first class honours from the Australian National University and a masters in art administration and theory from UNSW Sydney.