American Masters

History Series / 11 Seasons

American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.

1h 51m / TV-14

Mae West: Dirty Blonde

1m 56s

Dive into the life and career of groundbreaking writer, performer and subversive star Mae West. Over a career spanning eight decades, she broke boundaries and possessed creative and economic powers unheard of for a female entertainer in the 1930s.

Bessie Coleman: First African American Aviator

9m

The daughter of sharecropper in rural Texas, Bessie Coleman grew up picking cotton and eventually became the first African American woman aviator. Coleman became a media sensation with her daredevil performances, and was hailed as “Queen Bess” and “the world’s greatest woman flier.” Throughout her brief career, Coleman refused to perform in American airshows where audiences were segregated.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2m 24s

Discover the man behind the legend. With full access to the Miles Davis Estate, the film features never-before-seen footage, including studio outtakes from his recording sessions, rare photos and new interviews. American Masters Presents Stanley Nelson’s Grammy-nominated Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool February 25 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS in Honor of Black History Month.

How Miles Davis Recorded "Kind of Blue"

2m 27s

Miles Davis didn't provide sheet music for his musicians during the recording of his iconic album "Kind of Blue." He said that "I didn't write out the music for 'Kind of Blue.' But brought in sketches 'cause I wanted a lot of spontaneity in the playing." American Masters Presents Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool February 25 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.

"We Don't Sugarcoat Anything" in this "Definitive" Doc

2m

The Miles Davis Estate offered unprecedented access to its archive in order to help make this film the "definitive" documentary on Miles Davis, according to Davis's relatives.

Director Stanley Nelson Talks About Miles Davis

1m 42s

Stanley Nelson, director of Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, talks about why he chose to make a film about the iconic jazz musician. He also discusses how this film is more than just a film about a jazz musician and really a film about the United States in the second half of the 20th century as told through music.

In Memoriam: Actress Zoe Caldwell

1m 53s

Four-time Tony Award-winner Zoe Caldwell (“Slapstick Tragedy,” “Medea,” “Master Class”) died this week at 86. In her memory, we present this video clip of her discussing the rigid class system in England, and how she playfully disrupted expectations at a party with a lighthearted song and dance. This exclusive interview outtake is taken from American Masters – Paul Robeson: Here I Stand (1999).

N. Scott Momaday: Words From a Bear

29s

Delve into the enigmatic life and mind of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet N. Scott Momaday, best known for “House Made of Dawn” and a formative voice of the Native American Renaissance in art and literature.

How N. Scott Momaday Connected with his Kiowa Ancestry

1m 16s

In this clip from American Masters — N. Scott Momaday: Words From a Bear, the writer discusses how riding his horse on the same plains as his ancestors opened up his imagination.

The First Native American to Win the Pulitzer

2m 43s

When N. Scott Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize for his book "House Made of Dawn," it was a victory for the entire Native American community. Hear Jeff Bridges, Joy Harjo, Robert Redford and James Earl Jones explain the importance of Momaday's writing.

Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb on Creating Abstract Art

1m 22s

When a New York Times art critic reviewed Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb's work, the artists responded with a letter that became a manifesto on abstract art. In it, they stressed being in favor of the "simple expression of the complex thought,” and for "the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal," among other points.

How Abstract Expressionism Changed American Art

1m 57s

In post World War II New York City, a new group of artists including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, & Clyfford Still started a movement known as Abstract Expressionism and took the art world by storm.

Why Mark Rothko Came to America

2m 42s

Born Marcus Rothkowitz in Dvinsk, Russia, on September 25, 1903, Rothko emigrated to Portland, Oregon, with his family at age 10. Learn more in this clip from American Masters —Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous.

Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous Preview

30s

Explore the life of the celebrated artist whose luminous color field paintings helped define the abstract expressionist movement, which shifted the art world epicenter from Paris to New York. Featuring original scenes with Alfred Molina.

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage Preview

1m 1s

Explore a warm and revealing portrait of the charismatic, groundbreaking actor’s journey from his native Puerto Rico to the creative hotbed of 1960s New York City, to prominence on Broadway and in Hollywood. Filled with passion, determination and joy, Juliá’s brilliant and daring career was tragically cut short by his untimely death 25 years ago, at age 54.

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