Edward Hopper, one of America's most-admired artists, captured the shared realities of American life with poignancy and enigmatic beauty. His iconic images, set in unexceptional places, reveal the poetry of quiet, private moments. Hopper's influences, which vary from French impressionism to the gangster films of the 1930s, are explored through archival photos, footage of locations he painted in New York and along the New England coast, and interviews with artists Eric Fischl and Red Grooms. (30 mins., closed captioned)

In 1905 a group of young artists banded together to form Die Brücke, a movement dedicated to revitalizing German art. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, one of the group's founders and leaders, is the subject of part one of this program; part two surveys prints by some of the other Die Brücke artists, including Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Emil Nolde. The works exemplify Die Brücke's breadth. The artists' common concern for directness, freedom, and authenticity of expression is revealed in intense and sensuous images, often of the female nude. 18 slides, audiocassette (47 mins.), and text

The self-taught Rousseau was rejected by traditionalists but championed by avant-garde artists and writers including Picasso. Rousseau is best known for his jungle landscapes that depict a seductive and terrifying world. The film considers them in the context of France's fascination with the exotic during the nation's colonial expansion in the late nineteenth century. It features archival film and photographs as well as present-day footage of the Parisian parks, zoos, and greenhouses that fueled Rousseau's imagination. (30 mins., closed captioned)

This overview traces the development of artistic styles from 1900 to 1940, examining fauvism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, surrealism, and other movements. It include works by such painters and sculptors as Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Brancusi, Magritte, Miró, O'Keeffe, and Noguchi. Image CD with 20 images, 12 color study prints, timeline, and booklet (Slideset version with 20 slides also available)

The National Gallery of Art possesses one of the largest collections of European art in the United States, with extensive holdings in Italian Renaissance, Dutch, British, and French impressionist art. Narrated by National Gallery of Art director Earl A. Powell III, this film offers a brief art-historical overview and an introduction to the Gallery's treasure of European art—paintings, sculpture, and works on paper—from the twelfth to the twentieth century. (30 mins., closed captioned)