High Art

Alastair Sooke celebrates the protean genius of one of America's most prolific and original artists, Robert Rauschenberg. Fearless and influential, he blazed a trail for artists in the second half of the 20th century, and yet his work is rarely seen here in the UK. That is about to change with a major retrospective at Tate Modern in December 2016.

The original art is a human desire, depicting life through a variety of ways, but who are the masters of it? The expression means they must be unique individuals, while also embracing life. "Art Collection" by the BBC performs elaborate and time-consuming search through the years, shuttling around the museums, galleries and private collections in the world and visiting around artists friends and family. It is also showing enjoyment through the creation of classics, interspersed with an introduction to the life of the great masters of art from various periods to gain insight into their artistic core.

Series in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the incredible story of Russian art - its mystery and magnificence - and until now a story untold on British television.

Great Art is introduced by curator and broadcaster Tim Marlow, Artistic Director of The Royal Academy of Arts, and features a host of eminent art experts, providing the perfect guides to history's artistic greats.

How did a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars end up stashed in the far-off desert of Uzbekistan in a communist-funded museum? Thanks to the passion and daring of one man, Igor Savitsky, who loved the work too much to let the repressive Moscow government extinguish it forever.

With sumptuous palaces, exquisite artworks and stunning architecture, every great city offers a dizzying multitude of artistic highlights. In this series, art historians Dr Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke take us on three cultural citybreaks, hunting for off-the-beaten-track artistic treats - and finding new ways of enjoying some very famous sights.

The arresting sight of Sister Wendy Beckett, all teeth and glasses, burst on to our screens in the 1990s. An instant star, she travelled the world in her habit telling us the story of Christian art and painting but revealing little of her own extraordinary story. Arena goes in search of the 'real' Wendy, who, at 82, talks frankly, humorously, and profoundly about her life and spirituality for the first time.

Sue Perkins charts the changes in British taste towards domestic art by delving into the stories of contemporary bestsellers and charting the history of post-war prints. She discusses Tretchikoff with Red or Dead founder Wayne Hemmingway, and meets bestselling artists and photographers Jack Vettriano, Mel Allen, Spencer Rowell, Martin Elliot and Sam Toft, as well as discussing the interior design revolution with Habitat founder Terence Conran.

Karakami is a decorative Japanese paper used to ornament interior sliding doors during the Edo period. Woodblock-printed motifs, such as cherry blossoms and dragons, are said to have inspired several prominent European artists in the 19th century. This program examines the history of karakami through the work of a family in Kyoto that has preserved this traditional art form for nearly 400 years.

Documentary telling the amazing story of how a group of reclusive Rhineland experimentalists called Kraftwerk became one of the most influential pop groups of all time. It is a celebration of the band featuring exclusive live tracks filmed at their Tate Modern shows in London in February 2013, interwoven with expert analysis, archive footage of the group going back to 1970, newsreel of the era and newly shot cinematic evocations of their obsessions.