Two pale children dressed in black cloaks seem to be seeking guidance from the bull, as well as a phantom spirit. “I like the idea that there’s something happening in secret here,” said Ms. Hessel, hovering her finger near the painting’s faceless dancing apparition. As an expression of Ms. Carrington’s dual upbringing — her rebellious youth in Britain and subsequent escape to Mexico — “these hybridized figures feel like figures from two worlds in a way,” Ms. Hessel said. Ms. Hessel, petite, with long brown hair parted in the middle, carried the U.S. edition of her forthcoming 512-page art history book, “The Story of Art Without Men,” in a white Bao Bao Issey Miyake tote slung over an Axel Arigato trench coat. Though it isn’t especially unusual these days for certain podcast hosts to get recognized in public, it remains less common for an art historian like Ms. Hessel.

---