1000 Masterworks: American Realism of the 20th Century

Per its title, the documentary series 1000 GREAT MASTERPIECES FROM THE WORLD OF ART leads viewers on a systematic journey through art history, with each installment focusing on a specific school. The programs draw on insights by the authors of short art surveys, who provide incisive commentaries that are then illustrated onscreen with specific works. This particular volume looks at the great push toward realism that began to characterize American art in the decades immediately following World War I. It looks at how this constituted a rebellion of sorts against the modernism happening in Europe at that time, and was borne out of a desire to capture the zeitgeist of Middle America and the sociopolitical climate of the times. Works on display include "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper, "Twenty Cent Movie" by Reginald Marsh, and "American Gothic" by Grant Wood. Reiner E. Moritz directs.