The Great Women Artists

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In their own words

Created off the back of @thegreatwomenartists Instagram, this podcast is all about celebrating women artists. Presented by art historian and curator, Katy Hessel, this podcast interviews artists on their career, or curators, writers, or general art lovers, on the female artist who means the most to them.

Why you'd press play

A museum doubts a woman painted Bacchus; Katy Hessel invites you to ask who got the credit.

Press play if you want

  • to question who turned Mary Magdalene into a single, tidy archetype
  • to hear how Schiaparelli's friendships opened a path into fashion
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Talks about

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Episodes

  1. 1

    Alyce Mahon on Dorothea Tanning

    Hidden gem

    Katie Hessel interviews art historian Alice Mahan, author of Dorothea Tanning: A Surrealist World, about the American Surrealist painter born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1910.

    Apr 14, 2026·50m·3 clips
  2. 2

    Sonnet Stanfill on Elsa Schiaparelli

    Hidden gem

    Host Katy Hessel introduces the podcast, promotes her new book, and thanks the Levitt Collection sponsor before beginning an interview about women artists.

    Apr 7, 2026·48m·2 clips
  3. 3

    Diane Apostolos-Cappadona on Mary Magdalene

    Katie Hessel interviews Diane Apostolos-Cappadonna, a Georgetown University professor emerita and author of Mary Magdalene: A Visual History, about how artists have represented Mary Magdalene across sixteen centuries.

    Apr 2, 2026·54m·4 clips
  4. 4

    Meryl Tankard on Pina Bausch

    Meryl Tankard describes performing with Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal from 1978 to 1988, when audiences initially booed, slammed doors, and threw oranges.

    Mar 31, 2026·44m·3 clips
  5. 5

    Michaelina Wautier told by Katlijne Van der Stighelen (part 1) and Julien Domercq (part 2)

    Hidden gem

    Kathleen van der Stighelen recounts finding Michalina Wautier’s gigantic The Triumph of Bacchus in Vienna museum storage in 1993 and identifying an obscure 17th-century woman painter.

    Mar 25, 2026·1h·4 clips
  6. 6

    Dita Amory on Helene Schjerfbeck

    Mar 18, 2026·41m
  7. 7

    Nicholas Fox Weber on Anni Albers

    Mar 11, 2026·50m
  8. 8

    Katherine Rundell – World Book Day Special!

    Mar 4, 2026·4m
  9. 9

    Katherine Rundell – World Book Day Special!

    Mar 4, 2026·48m
  10. 10

    Tracey Emin

    Feb 25, 2026·1h
  11. 11

    Audiobook teaser: The Story of Art without Men – for younger readers!

    Feb 18, 2026·10m
  12. 12

    How to Live an Artful Life: December

    Nov 30, 2025·9m
  13. 13

    Bonus: Katy Hessel & Es Devlin

    Nov 28, 2025·58m
  14. 14

    Magda Keaney on Julia Margaret Cameron

    Nov 12, 2025·41m
  15. 15

    Megan Fontanella on Gabriele Münter

    Nov 5, 2025·42m
  16. 16

    Ekow Eshun on Toni Morrison, Octavia E. Butler, Hilary Mantel, Wangechi Mutu, and more

    Oct 29, 2025·1h 3m
  17. 17

    Sally Mann

    Oct 21, 2025·51m
  18. 18

    Eva Helene Pade

    Oct 14, 2025·44m
  19. 19

    Hilton Als on Jean Rhys

    Oct 7, 2025·29m
  20. 20

    How to Live an Artful Life (Audiobook Taster!)

    Oct 6, 2025·11m
  21. 21

    Tania Bruguera

    Oct 1, 2025·37m
  22. 22

    Emily Kam Kngwarray as told by Kelli Cole [Exhibition walkthrough at Tate Modern!]

    Jul 8, 2025·31m
  23. 23

    Meret Oppenheim as told by Lisa Wenger

    Jun 3, 2025·47m
  24. 24

    Lois Dodd

    May 27, 2025·37m
  25. 25

    Lorna Simpson

    May 18, 2025·39m
  26. 26

    Michaela Yearwood-Dan

    May 7, 2025·46m
  27. 27

    Danielle Mckinney

    Apr 29, 2025·35m
  28. 28

    Bharti Kher

    Apr 22, 2025·43m
  29. 29

    Andrew Hottle on Sylvia Sleigh

    Apr 15, 2025·46m
  30. 30

    Katherine Bradford

    Apr 8, 2025·39m
  31. 31

    Rose Wylie

    Mar 31, 2025·33m
  32. 32

    Jenny Saville

    Mar 22, 2025·35m
  33. 33

    Sheila Heti on Jenny Holzer, Berthe Morisot, Margaux Williamson, and more

    Dec 10, 2024·34m
  34. 34

    Barbara Walker

    Dec 3, 2024·31m
  35. 35

    Shahzia Sikander

    Nov 26, 2024·51m
  36. 36

    Katharina Grosse

    Nov 19, 2024·34m
  37. 37

    Cecilia Vicuña

    Nov 12, 2024·43m
  38. 38

    Maria Balshaw on Museums (+ Tracey Emin, Frida Kahlo, and more!)

    Nov 6, 2024·44m
  39. 39

    Audrey Flack (1931–2024)

    Oct 30, 2024·34m
  40. 40

    Bonus episode: Witches in Art

    Oct 28, 2024·30m
  41. 41

    Merve Emre on Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf

    This episode introduces the podcast's mission to celebrate women artists and features a sponsor segment about a museum dedicated to female artists.

    Oct 22, 2024·49m
  42. 42

    Emerson Bowyer on Camille Claudel

    An interview podcast celebrating women artists, hosted by art historian Katy Hessel, with this episode sponsored by the Levitt Collection and FAM museum.

    Oct 15, 2024·54m
  43. 43

    Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova

    An interview podcast celebrating women artists, hosted by art historian Katy Hessel, with a sponsor segment about a museum dedicated to female artists.

    Oct 8, 2024·49m
  44. 44

    Sophia Jansson on Tove Jansson

    This episode celebrates women artists, featuring a discussion about Tova Janssen, creator of the Moomins, and highlights the Levitt Collection and FAM museum.

    Oct 1, 2024·38m
  45. 45

    The Story of Art Without Men (Abstract Expressionism -- Audiobook!)

    Aug 27, 2024·14m
  46. 46

    Cat Bohannon on the female body

    Jun 25, 2024·32m
  47. 47

    Amy Hale on Ithell Colquhoun

    Jun 18, 2024·45m
  48. 48

    Sam Taylor-Johnson

    Katy Hessel introduces Series 11 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, sponsored by the Levitt Collection, and announces the opening of the Female Artists of the Mougins Museum.

    Jun 11, 2024·45m
  49. 49

    Chloe Aridjis on Leonora Carrington

    Jun 4, 2024·40m
  50. 50

    Natalie Haynes on Medusa

    May 29, 2024·34m