PBS
Ken Burns Documentaries

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
A film by Ken Burns, Sarah BOTSTEIN AND DAVID SCHMIDT

This sweeping six-part series strips away centuries of mythology to examine the brutal, against-all-odds struggle that forged a nation from the ground up through the diverse perspectives of soldiers, women, Native peoples, and enslaved individuals.

With no photography from the era—and a story often shrouded in polished historical lore—the challenge was to make the American Revolution feel immediate, human, and new. The key art uses stark silhouettes, splattered ink, and the handwritten language of the nation’s founding to bring the conflict to life without romanticizing it. The result captures the tension at the heart of the film: the ideals that shaped a new nation set against the violence, sacrifice, and uncertainty required to create it.

Leonardo da Vinci
A film by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon
How to bring to life a master artist, scientist, engineer and dreamer—and creator of some of the most celebrated works known to man? Through his personal notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life and times, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, an intimate and fascinating picture emerges. Incorporating images from Leonardo’s iconic paintings and drawings, we created a key art image that exemplifies his singular genius.

The U.S. and the Holocaust
A film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein
This film series recounts how the American people struggled with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century and how it tested the ideals of our democracy. In the process, it deals with questions essential to our society: Is America truly a land of immigrants? Why did we fail to rescue a people at the time of their greatest need? How do the continued struggles over how we define our past shape our future as a country? It was decided that no single photographic image could convey the depth and breadth of stories told within the film. We opted to create an illustration representing the hopes for U.S. aid from those faced with the horrors of the Holocaust.

Hemingway
A film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
This intimate and insightful series examines the work and life of one of the greatest and most influential American writers. It penetrates the mythology surrounding Hemingway, revealing a deeply troubled and tragic figure. The central theme to be communicated in our creative was that the man was, in fact, much greater than the myth. Hemingway’s own words bring the key art to life—his writings are used to create a portrait based on the iconic photo by Yousuf Karsh.

The Vietnam War
A film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
Ten years in the making, this ten-part film tells the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never been told before. “There is no single truth in war,” and the series features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and those who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese fighters and civilians from both the winning and losing sides. Our primary key art uses a reflective image of an American soldier and a Vietnamese farmer to illustrate the diversity of viewpoints and the ambiguity of this painful time in history.

The American Buffalo
A film by Ken Burns
The film traces the near extinction—and ultimate return—of the US national mammal, as well as the species’ connection to Indigenous communities and the land. The American buffalo is integral to the story of Native nations who lived with and relied on the buffalo to survive, developing a sacred relationship with them over thousands of years. In deference to this unbreakable connection, our key art incorporated an original Illustration by Plains Indian artist John Pepion.

Country Music
A film by Ken Burns
This sweeping 16-hour series focuses on the fascinating characters who created this uniquely American music genre from its earliest roots to the modern era. Country music is not one thing—and it never was. It’s part of a larger stream of diverse musical influences and a cross-pollination of musical influences. The film follows the evolution of country music over the course of the twentieth century, as it eventually emerged to become “America’s music.” Our key art focuses on the excitement and energy of this distinctly American genre.