Modern Masters
ep01 Andy Warhol.WnA
Sun 2 May 2010 21:00 BBC One
A new, four-part modern art series looks at some of the most notable and influential artists of our time and makes the claim that Picasso, Dali, Matisse and Warhol are Modern Masters. Artists with intriguing life stories, millionaires in their own lifetimes, it's small wonder that Picasso, Dali, Matisse and Warhol have been embraced by the mainstream, spanning high and low culture in a unique manner. The series looks in depth at each artist and explores why these modern masters deserve their fame and how their legacy continues to pervade our culture and everyday lives. [cut]
Iconic Pop Artist Andy Warhol launches the series. Talking to celebrities as diverse as actor Dennis Hopper, celebrity designer Nicky Haslam and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, wife of the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Alastair Sooke asks whether Warhol (1928-1987) deserves his fame and the price tag that his work has acquired. Heading from the O2 Arena, where Andy Warhol’s portrait of Michael Jackson went on temporary display in 2009 after the death of the musician, to the artist’s hometown of Pittsburgh, Sooke follows Warhol’s life story and explores the reasons why he gains such admiration.

Matisse Ep 2/4
Sunday 9 May
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE

Alastair Sooke explores the work of French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and the profound influence he has had on people's perception of colour in the 20th and 21st centuries, as the modern art series looking at some of the most notable and influential artists of our time and exploring what makes them modern masters continues. Following in the footsteps of Matisse from his origins in Northern France to his later homes on the Cote D'Azur in the south, Sooke reveals how Matisse cast aside traditional representational painting, with its emphasis on light, shade and perspective, to use a new, modern palette of vivid, bright colour
that has had a deep impact on the artists and designers who came after him.

Picasso
Sunday 16 May
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE

In a journey that takes him through Spain, France and the US, Alastair Sooke reveals how Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) managed to achieve the status of genius in the 20th century, as BBC One's modern art series looking at some of the most notable and influential artists of our time continues. In interviews with acclaimed contemporary artists as well as fashion commentators and architects, Alastair probes how this extraordinarily prolific artist changed the face of art and design.

Dali Ep 4/4
Sunday 23 May
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE

Spanish artist Salvador Dali (1904-1989) remains one of the art world's most controversial figures. An artist with brilliant technical abilities, his dreamscapes have become some of the most famous pictures ever painted. As BBC One's modern art series looking at some of the most notable and influential artists of our time concludes, Alastair Sooke discusses whether Dali's often comical behaviour and his eager readiness to embrace advertising and the media as part of a quest for fame and fortune, undermined the seriousness of his purpose. Sooke argues that Dali was one of the most influential men in the 20th century, whose influence has spread through fashion, comedy, advertising and art. But was he also a great artist?