Sister Wendy’s American Collection (Art)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: B-

 

 

One of the more recent unlikely and maybe even eccentric stars of television brought to us by PBS is Sister Wendy Beckett, a nun who is also an authority on world art.  Sister Wendy’s American Collection is a 3 DVD set with six episodes as she visits six different museums in The United States.  They are:

 

• The Art Institute Of Chicago
• The Cleveland Museum Of Art
• Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas)
• Los Angeles County Museum Of Art
• The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
• Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston

 

 

Each show runs about an hour as Sister Wendy shares her insights into a vast and wide variety of sculptures, paintings, figurines, clothing, artifacts and even a recreated garden.  Now as fine as her observations are, you might want to watch with the sound down first to make up your own mind about what you see before hearing her facts and opinions.  Otherwise, she knows her subject and you can learn so much more about all kinds of artworks from this set.

 

The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image is not bad, but lacking some detail and depth, though this is nicely taped otherwise, likely in digital High Definition.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no surrounds of any kind, but is nice, clean and clear otherwise.  Extras are few and include weblinks and text section of additional products of interest.  A book that ties into this series is also available.  You’ll be surprised how wide ranging her coverage is.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo