Episodes

One of the few women recognized as central to the New York art scene, she had over 20 group shows scheduled for 1970 in addition to being chosen for a cover article in ArtForum Magazine.

In honor of the centennial of Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, American Masters presents a new biography of the Boston Red Sox player who may have been the greatest hitter who ever lived.

Louisa May Alcott's reputation as a morally upstanding spinster, reflecting the conventional propriety of late 19th Century Concord, is firmly established. However, raised among reformers, the intellectual protege of Emerson and Hawthorne and Thoreau, Alcott was actually a free thinker, with democratic ideals and progressive values about women.

Hedy Lamarr never publicly talked about her life as an inventor and so her family thought her story died when she did. However, in 2016, director Alexandra Dean and producer Adam Haggiag unearthed four never-before-heard audio tapes of Lamarr speaking on the record about her incredible life, finally giving her the chance to tell her own story.

Explore the inner life and works of the activist, playwright and author of A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry. Narrated by actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson and featuring the voice of Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose as Hansberry.

Explore the entertainer’s life with unprecedented access to his personal archives including writings voiced by Billy Crystal, clips from his body of work, and interviews with Woody Allen, Margaret Cho, Conan O’Brien, Tom Selleck and Brooke Shields.

Discover the real story of the notorious author, starring Denis O’Hare as Edgar Allan Poe. This new documentary explores the misrepresentations of Poe and reveals how he tapped into what it means to be human in a modern and sometimes frightening world. Narrated by Kathleen Turner.

Until his death at the age of 106, Tyrus Wong was America’s oldest living Chinese American artist and one of the last remaining artists from the golden age of Disney animation. The quiet beauty of his Eastern-influenced paintings had a pioneering impact on American art and popular culture.

Slacker. Indie filmmaker. Oscar nominee. Writer, director, producer, actor Richard Linklater is all these things and more, a poster boy for the fiercely independent style of filmmaking that emerged out of Austin, Texas in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Get to know some of America's most iconic chefs through American Masters' Chefs Flight: four documentaries on iconic chefs James Beard, Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters. The films will be broadcasting throughout the month of May.

Alice Waters shares her Inspiring Woman: Michelle Obama. During her time in the White House, Mrs. Obama planted a vegetable garden on the White House lawn and championed healthy eating initiatives. Share your story at pbs.org/InspiringWoman or using #InspiringWomanPBS.

Get to know some of America's most iconic chefs through American Masters' Chefs Flight: four documentaries on iconic chefs James Beard, Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters. The films will be broadcasting throughout the month of May.

Get to know some of America's most iconic chefs through American Masters' Chefs Flight: four documentaries on iconic chefs James Beard, Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters. The films will be broadcasting throughout the month of May.

This unprecedented film celebrates Dr. Maya Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America’s most defining moments. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her work with Malcolm X in Ghana, the film takes us on an incredible journey through the life of a true American icon.

Film legend Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) tells his own story in a never-before-seen interview shot in 2008. With candor, humor and grace, Lumet reveals what matters to him as an artist and as a human being. The documentary features clips from Lumet’s films – 44 films made in 50 years – including Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Network and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.