Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Kunz (Another History of Art) delivers a soulful survey of notable women that spans the prehistoric to Vice President Kamala Harris in this visually arresting collection. The portraits and thumbnail profiles are arranged alphabetically by name, and while design elements such as lettering and ornamentation reflect the shifting time periods, the lack of thematic organization can leave the achievements of these women unmoored of context. It also results in some jarring juxtapositions. Alice Ball, the African American woman who developed a treatment for leprosy precedes Melitta Bentz, the German woman who invented the coffee filter, and the Osage dancer Maria Tallchief, the first Native American prima ballerina, directly follows Peggy Jo Tallas, a white bank robber; the sequencing can leave the accomplishments by women of color feeling diminished when placed next to a curiosity factor. Some laurels, meanwhile, are rumored or unproven, such as Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, who was possibly the real creator of Duchamp's urinal. Kunz describes wanting to paint women who were "not known" but curiously includes Queen Elizabeth. As the artist herself writes, even this expansive list offers "only a beginning." Indeed, it's a solid primer and works as a jumping-off point for further reading. Agent: Allison Devereux, the Cheney Agency. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Distinguished artist/illustrator Kunz, whose Another History of Art was just presented at LJ's Spring 2021 Day of Dialog, here offers more than 150 color portraits of women throughout history who made a difference. They range from Hatshepsut and Joan of Arc to Rachel Carson and Misty Copeland to women previously little known or celebrated. Her inspiration: locked down in Toronto owing to COVID, she began researching women on the Internet. With a foreword from Roxane Gay.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A distinguished Canadian artist and illustrator presents a portrait gallery of 156 of the world's most important--but often forgotten--women of achievement. This beautifully illustrated collection of images and short biographies started as a pandemic lockdown project in March 2020. Kunz sketched portraits of female contributors to human culture based on information found on Wikipedia, Britannica Online, the National Geographic website, and elsewhere. Where visual resources were sparse or poor quality, the author/illustrator filled in details like color and dress. When no data was available--as for "Anonymous," who represents the unnamed female cave painters of the Paleolithic era--Kunz created her own imaginative renderings. The featured women come from a diverse swath of societies old and new, but many of them never received the acclaim or attention they deserved. Poet Anna Akhmatova, ballet dancer Maria Tallchief, and artist Amrita Sher-Gil represent the abundant contributions women have made to the arts. Animal behavior expert Temple Grandin, philosopher Hannah Arendt, and medieval woman of letters Christine de Pizan demonstrate female achievement in the advancement of human thought. The Celtic queen Boudicca, the Northern Cheyenne fighter Buffalo Calf Road Woman, and the legendary Chinese pirate Ching Shih remind readers of how woman have been underrepresented as leaders and warriors. Many others--e.g., Gloria Steinem, Tarana Burke, Marsha P. Johnson, and Malala Yousafzai--show the abundant work women have done as activists seeking social justice for women and minorities, including people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. Kunz's work is important for the way it participates in the ongoing feminist project of reclaiming women's lives from patriarchal silencing. Colorful and radically inclusive--from Hippolyta and Hypatia to Josephine Baker and Isadora Duncan--these portraits and biographies serve as ample evidence of women's contributions to world history, which should never be forgotten. A unique collection of feminist icons. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
