The Mirror and the Palette

''Reveals an until-now hidden history of women''s self-portraiture. A gift that keeps on giving'' ALI SMITH, NEW STATESMAN, Books of the Year
''A fascinating survey . . . Extraordinary'' DAILY MAIL
''A bewitching, invigorating history'' OLIVIA LAING
''Grips from the opening pages'' FINANCIAL TIMES
''Important and brilliantly accessible'' VOGUE

Until the twentieth century, art history was, in the main, written by white men who tended to write about other white men. The idea that women in the West have always made art was rarely cited as a possibility. Yet they have - and, of course, continue to do so - often against tremendous odds, from laws and religion to the pressures of family and public disapproval.

In THE MIRROR AND THE PALETTE, Jennifer Higgie introduces us to a cross-section of women artists who embody the fact that there is more than one way to understand our planet, more than o