Art of America

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Andrew Graham-Dixon

Paul Tilzey

Silvia Sacco

Basil Comely

Art of America: Episode 2: Modern Dreams

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Modern Dreams

Episode 2

Episode 2: Modern Dreams

BBC Four - Art of America, Modern Dreams

How visionary artists and architects helped America remove itself from Europe's shadow.

Andrew Graham-Dixon discovers how the ambitions of visionary artists and architects helped America remove itself from the shadow of Europe in the 20th century.

In the second part of his fascinating journey exploring American art, Andrew Graham-Dixon gets under the skin of the modern American metropolis. Starting his journey at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, which he describes as a pioneering early skyscraper, Andrew discovers how the ambitions of visionary artists and architects helped America remove itself from the shadow of Europe and become the most advanced civilisation on earth.
 
Andrew travels to downtown Manhattan to explore the grimy world of early 20th-century painters John Sloan and George Bellows, and visits Stockbridge in Massachusetts to find out how the world of Norman Rockwell is not as sentimental as it first seems. In Chicago, he explores the visionary mind of architect Louis Sullivan and travels to the decaying outskirts of the city to see the underside of the American dream.
 
He uncovers the impact the Great Depression had on artists such as Edward Hopper and Arshile Gorky, and finds out how this struggle inspired America's first internationally acclaimed art movement - Abstract Expressionism. He pays a pilgrimage to Jackson Pollock's perfectly preserved studio in Long Island to discover the secrets of his unique drip technique, before flying across America to take in one of modern art's most moving experiences, Mark Rothko's chapel in Houston, Texas.

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the rich, exciting and diverse art history of the USA

Andrew Graham-Dixon embarks on his most ambitious journey yet, an exploration of the rich, exciting and diverse art history of the United States of America

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Art of America

Episode 2: Modern Dreams

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