Looking for Paradise

Episode image for Looking for Paradise

Episode 1 of 3

Duration: 1 hour

In the first episode of a series exploring the history of American art, Andrew Graham-Dixon embarks on an epic journey from east to west, following in the footsteps of the pioneers who built the foundations of modern America.

During his journey, he travels to Massachusetts to see the earliest portraits in America depicting the Puritan settlers and visits Pennsylvania to uncover the dark truth behind Benjamin West's most famous painting, the spectacular Treaty of Penn with the Indians. In Philadelphia, he turns the pages of one of the world's most expensive books - John James Audubon's exquisite Birds of America, and explores the wilderness that inspired America's greatest landscape painter, Thomas Cole.

He also uncovers the paradox at the heart of America: that progress and innovation have come at a tragic price, the destruction of the unique cultural heritage of Native Americans by European settlers.

Andrew's journey takes us to the end of the 19th century and the announcement that the era of westward expansion was officially over.

More episodes

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  • All American season

    All American season

    This programme is part of All American, a BBC Four season about US culture. You can also watch further programmes from the BBC archives, online and in full, in the All American Collection.

    Go to the BBC Four All American Collection

  • Filming Locations

    Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts

    The Capitol, Washington D.C.

    Catskill Mountains, New York

    Cedar Grove, The Thomas Cole National Historic Site

    Smithsonian American Art Museum

    National Gallery of Art, D.C.

    Catskill Mountain Railroad, New York

    The National Museum of the American Indian, New York

    Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia

    The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia

    Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts

  • Andrew Graham-Dixon in Sedona, Arizona

    Andrew Graham-Dixon in Sedona, Arizona

    Andrew admires the spectacular red rocks of Sedona in the heart of Arizona

Credits

Series Producer
Silvia Sacco
Presenter
Andrew Graham-Dixon
Director
Paul Tilzey
Producer
Paul Tilzey
Executive Producer
Basil Comely

Broadcasts

See all broadcasts of Looking for Paradise (6)

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