If you’re new to art or art history and want a way in to understanding women’s place in the canon, this is an excellent place to start. I have thought sometimes about how difficult it must be for women to make a living from art when they have other responsibilities. But the beauty of this book is that it also got me thinking about the artists who didn’t even pick up a brush commercially. What art have we lost forever because women didn’t have the opportunity to express their dreams?

"In the field of painting, women were not offered similar opportunities to train as male artists until the 20th century and even then faced specific obstacles. In fact, the very idea of 'the artist' over many centuries had a particularly exclusive male image. Even today, in major galleries or in the art section of a high street bookstore, the names of male painters continue to monopolise each space."

Ms Henderson interviews many female artists and it’s fascinating. How they got into the galleries and art shows. The sacrifices they made and why they’ve chosen particular themes or ideas.

There’s a lot going on in this book and it gave me loads of names to research and learn about.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

molto molto interessante, da amante dell'arte ho più che apprezzato la lettura. Un saggio diviso per tematiche e incentrato sulle donne artiste, ogni gruppo di temi contiene delle interviste, ottimo per imparare qualcosa di più e scoprire nuove opere davvero spettacolari 🥺

Insightful and inclusive in many ways, Unlocking Women's Art gives us interviews with contemporary women artists and covers a range of important topics and themes.
I wish this had been longer and slightly more layered, but I took amazing value out of it, and found it inspiring.

A treasure trove of art pieces - you will find yourself writing down the names frantically and wanting to run all over the world to see their art in person. A wonderful book not meant to sit on a coffee table but to browse through with your girls and celebrate!

When I first got the book, I glanced through looking at the great artwork (and the vast majority is art I have never seen before). This book does a great job of showing how each generation of women artists going back centuries have had to "unlock" or open doors for other women to be able to express themselves. Women were denied access to education, to tools, to models, to galleries, etc. What is so powerful about this book is the previously undiscovered/unacknowledged art by many incredibly talented women artists from around the world. The fact that this book highlights women from non-western countries and cultures is amazing. The book is structured into sections around art movements and effectively shows the evolution of women artists' subjects as well as sharing the societal contexts and constraints for women at that time. Each section has interviews with three women artists from current day. I am embarrassed to admit too that I had never heard of any of these artists interviewed. I learned additional new information in this book such as the fact that Mary Cassatt was never a mother herself (and never married) yet depicts some of my favorite and tender portraits of mothers and children. There are a lot of examples of male artists (majority who were lovers, husbands ) who dismissed, blocked and in some cases sabotaged the woman' art. Examples include Camille Claudel, Dora Maar, Lee Krasner, and also Barbara Hepwoth who was disparaged by Henry Moore who was a gallery trustee and dissuaded them from showing her work so of course instead they bought his sculptures. Also long before Judy Chicago's Dinner Party -(about 50 years or so), Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant (part of the Bloomsbury Group) created "Famous Women Dinner Service" - a commissioned project to depict present day and historically distinguished women. of 50 portraits on 50 dinner plates. The one thing I do wish the book included, was the images of all of the paintings referenced - there is an extensive bibliography at least for reference. A must needed book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Aurora Metro | Supernova Books for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

A mix of art history and analyzing pieces. I found it very interesting and fun to read.

This book mainly focuses on Western art but touches on Eastern artists occasionally. Popular male artists taught in most art history classes are brought up and compared to women artists who worked in the same periods.

I found it analyzes art professionally and in a detailed way. It introduces symbols found in a variety of women’s art and analyzes them in the context of the artist’s intentions and the context within history. Notably, this book compares artistic symbols in works made by men to art done by women and says why something works or doesn’t work. This feels like a college course textbook rather than an in-depth analysis, due to the author covering so much time and so many artists.

The author mentions various power dynamics between artists and their models, especially male artists. It also touches on the difference in how men paint women (objectifying) while women artists understand the model’s perspective and can represent a natural and intimate scene. Another thing that was mentioned was the erasure of women artists, especially if their husbands/siblings/etc are well known (ex. Lee Krasner and her husband Jackson Pollock).

My biggest complaint is the cover. It works with the title but is fairly boring, and I wish they picked something else. If they picked a painting that better represented the title in a better way or if they commissioned an art piece for the cover, it might look better. Personally the artist interviews were not interesting to me at this time, so I skipped them. On a later reading I might look into them more.

* Thanks to the publisher Aurora Metro via Netgalley for an ebook!

"Unlocking Women's Art: Pioneers, Visionaries, and Radicals of Paint" by P.L. Henderson is a compelling and illuminating exploration of the often-overlooked contributions of women artists throughout history. In this concise yet comprehensive book, Henderson shines a spotlight on the pioneering women who have defied societal norms and challenged artistic conventions to make their mark on the world of art.

One of the book's strengths lies in Henderson's meticulous research and engaging storytelling. Through vivid anecdotes and insightful analysis, she brings to life the stories of women artists who have pushed boundaries and broken barriers in pursuit of their creative visions. From Renaissance painters to contemporary trailblazers, Henderson celebrates the diverse voices and perspectives that have shaped the trajectory of art history

This book also serves to show that there is a need for greater recognition and appreciation of women's artistic achievements. The author not only highlights the struggles and triumphs of individual artists but also contextualizes their work within broader social, political, and cultural movements. Through her passionate advocacy, she challenges readers to rethink traditional narratives of art history and acknowledge the profound impact of women artists on the artistic landscape. Henderson's eloquent prose and deep reverence for her subject make this book a compelling tribute to the resilience, creativity, and ingenuity of women artists throughout the ages.

This is a thorough and well-written exploration into women's art, specifically painting, through the centuries. Each chapter covers a topic, such as still life or figure painting, and moves chronologically though the development of that style or movement or topic, all in regards to how women have created art and interacted with art of that kind. The book as a whole moves somewhat chronologically, ending with movements that began in the sixties. Henderson made an effort to include work and artists outside of the western canon, and as a whole, this was an interesting book.

As an art graduate, it was nice to see Henderson's promotion of Women artist's in a book format, having followed her twitter accounts for some years and learning quite a few gems that were of aid in my research when studying. This book honestly doesn't disappoint in given a concise history of women artists that have well been forgotten to the larger masses.

Much like her social media accounts, the book is very accessible to those interested in learning and are at the start of their journey for knowledge on art history, particularly those largely left out from the mainstream books.

Whilst I received an e-ARC thank to NetGalley and Supernova Books I would recommend that a physical copy would be a better option if you wish to admire the utterly beautiful artworks.

I think it is quite impossible for a book of this nature to be unsatisfactory, but even though the introduction rejects its encyclopedic nature, it does have a bit of that. It's not a list of artists, but the chapters end up feeling like enumerations of artists and works, very descriptive and contextual, but without really providing feminist criticism beyond the theoretical framework from which it starts: introducing women in the artistic canon. Nevertheless an interesting read about women artists who have always been in art history, but have been neglected.

This book was so amazing as someone who loves art history. I rarely see women represented in many of the art publications I read, so this was really refreshing. I loved getting to learn about these amazing women who helped shape the art world today.

One of my favorite aspects was how detailed it was about the lives of the artists and their works. Truly an enjoyable and informative read.

This book covers many women artist through out the centuries and how they contributed to the art world and society. Sometimes I don’t like how it jumps to todays artist because it just seems like to much jumping around and you just want to be consistent in going in chronological order threw time. It read more like a textbook, which I have read many art history books bc I a degree in art history.

This was an amazing analysis and collection exploring women's art. I'll admit, that my knowledge of art history is surface level (I understand different genres and movements) but reading Unlocking Women's Art has me wanting to dive further and learn more about art history (more precisely women's art history). Each interview is informative and interesting as they discuss many different aspects of women's art and art history. The writing wasn't too academic, but I can see some finding it a bit hard to get into.

Overall, Unlocking Women's Art was a fascinating read that left me wanting to learn more. I highly recommend it if you love art history and want to learn more about artists who are hidden gems that shine bright in their work.

Thank you, NetGalley and Aurora Metro for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this! Having recently and wholeheartedly taken up art as a hobby (as opposed to my previous dabbles), I came to this as a novice with minimal background and knowledge in art history and I thought it was fantastic. I loved learning about the history of women in art through the different eras and movements, and the interviews with current working artists was so inspiring. It was interesting to see how many different entry routes into art there were, as well as different practices and disciplines, and that contrasted with the struggles of women from so long ago was very poignant. I loved the insights provided by the interviews, learning how different artists approach their art was inspiring and fascinating. I just all round loved it and was genuinely sad when the book ended. I also think the book did a really good job of exploring intersectionality and highlighting a diverse amount of women artists, as well as the lack of representation that continues to this day. To find out that there is a staggering disproportionality in male vs. female artists shown in galleries as recently as 2022 is sobering.

The writing style is not too academic, but it may well be too dry for some. I also think that while this is a fantastic book for hobbyists/newbies/those with a passing interest, if you're well versed in art history and women artists then this may be redundant. However I will say that the interviews with current artists add a lot to the book, so it may be worth picking up just for that. I think this would make a great introductory book for beginners, and probably a nice gift for your feminist friend who's quite into art.

I'm thankful to Net Galley and the publisher for this e-ARC. I will most definitely be purchasing a physical copy and probably physical copies to give to others too!

As an art enthusiast and a woman, it's a shame that other than a few names like Freida Kalho, there are hardly any women from the world of art that I was previously familiar with.

This is a great entry point into tracing the history of art through women artists, riveting interviews with contemporary artists and absolutely brilliant full page illustrations.

I admit I have just skimmed through the book so far and going cover to cover involves taking copious notes and reading and savouring the book over time.

It's an absolutely must have in your collection if you are interested in art.

A delightful and very thorough book on women in art. I have been following the author for quite sometime on Twitter and am always deeply impressed with the range of art and artists.
When I saw she wrote a book I couldn’t wait to read it.
Reading the book is like being at a party with very impressive people. But also a smidge overwhelming as there are so many names (a bunch new to me even after studying art and just completing an art history course on women in the 20th century.) Because I wanted to really soak the names in, it took me a bit to finish.
The writing is very accessible, thorough and clear. I also really love the interviews in the book.
I do wish it had more art in it, but it might have been omitted because of the price on copyright, or the legibility of the text.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
UNLOCKING WOMEN'S ART - P.L HENDERSON

I realised that despite taking as much time as possible this year to teach myself to draw, I could still only really name male artists 😳😳. I had never ever noticed that throughout my entire school life we only ever learned about male artists. All that talent and skill of women over the centuries which has been forced into the shadows of male dominance and ego! And me, moving through life without even questioning it! The shame 😭.
This book has been a great start to my new learning journey. It includes interviews with artists, pictures of women's work throughout the centuries and details women's contribution to the evolution of art, their work and their silence.

Thank you #netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

#unlockingwomensart #plhenderson #womenshistory #womeninart #femaleartists #historyofart #bookblogger #bookrecommendations #bookreviews

Unlocking Women’s Art by P.L. Henderson is a super informative and interesting read about the history of women in the arts. I especially loved the interviews with living female artists interspersed throughout! This one took me a while to get through only because there is so much educational subject matter gathered all in one place. You could teach a college level art history course with this book and revisit it for years to come. I recommend this to any art lovers interested to see how women’s place in art has evolved through time.

It was highly informative and I enjoyed reading the book, but somehow it felt a bit disjointed and all over the place. The interviews kind of interrupted the history of women's art and it would have been nice to have more examples of current artists even if just adding a few little artworks each. In the end I wanted more from it than it had to give.
As a side note, it's never a nice reading experience if I have to use my phone for these kind of books. I wish a kindle version would have been available.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Unlocking Women's Art" explores how women carefully constructed their identities as artists. It also explores how certain themes were utilized by female artists as a way to break into the male-dominated art world.

P. L. Henderson presents 7 specific categories, providing a historic overview regarding each said category, followed by interviews with three female artists. As you read, it becomes evident that the book is worthy of being used in an art history class focused solely on female artists.

It's an interesting read and the art works included are wonderful to look at. For me, though, the 3 interviews seem a little much. One per chapter, I think, would have sufficed.

Thank you NetGalley and Aurora Metro/Supernova Books for this eARC. All opinions are my own.