Secret Impressionists - DVD

This authoritative and entertaining new series tells the stories of the artists who have captivated and thrilled people around the world for generations. It chronicles the life, times and works of each featured artist and explores their stylistic trademarks. This episode highlights Pissarro.

Profoundly influenced by the Renaissance painters, Hilaire Degas pioneered precision of line and the use of the human form in space within the Impressionist school. This unique study of his life and times includes delightful new footage of the Royal Ballet, Birmingham, England.

In 2003, eight Rhode Island artists created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall and lived there for four years, sneaking in furniture, tapping into the mall's electricity, constructing walls, and even smuggling in more than two tons of cinderblock, filming everything along the way. More than just a wild prank, the apartment became a deeply personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, and a boundary-pushing work of public/private art in which large-scale charitable art projects were planned, including, finally, a 750 square-foot middle finger to The Man.