The Bigger Picture: Women Who Changed the Art World

For thousands of years, anonymous (and predominantly female) makers have created beautiful objects with great skill and artistry. Yet in the West, weaving, sewing, embroidery and painting on crockery were considered crafts, and not fine art like painting or sculpture. Instead, they were known as decorative arts and their makers weren't usually considered great artists.

This wasn't the case all over the world: in China, arts such as calligraphy and embroidery were always considered as important as painting and sculpture. Islamic art has always prized garden design, carpet making and architecture.

In this fascinating book, women artists from all over the world and their work are profiled - from Sonia Boyce, a contemporary London artist whose art considers the depiction of the black female figure, to the art activist group the Guerrilla Girls, famous for their subversive posters, and Paula Rego, Cindy Sherman, Louise Bourgeois and Ana Mendieta among many others.

There's also a useful glossary of art terms used in the book, a timeline and, in many cases, a short Q&A with the person being profiled, including questions about their influences and their top tips for becoming an artist.