1. Exit Through the Gift Shop
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime, rent for $3.99 or buy for $7.99
Time: 1hr 25m
Rated: R
Summary: Shop owner Thierry Guetta’s project to document the underground world of street art takes an unforeseen turn when he meets Banksy, who in turn films the shop
owner’s attempts to be an artist himself.
My Art Lesson Comment: Some cursing, please note the R rating and your district’s policies

2. Kubo and the Two Strings
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime, rent for $3.99 or buy for $12.99
Time: 1h 41m
Rated: PG
Summary: Kubo mesmerizes the people of a local fishing village with his magical gift for spinning wild tales with origami. 

3. Canvas
Where can I see it? Free with a Netflix subscription
Time: 9m
Rated: G
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.

4. Woman in Gold
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime Video, free with ads or rent for $3.99 or buy for $9.99
Time: 1h 49m
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The remarkable and true story of one woman’s battle against the establishment to recover her family possessions that had been seized by Nazis during WWII.

5. Loving Vincent
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime, rent for $3.99 or buy for $9.99
Time: 1h 34m
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A story depicted in oil-painted animation which tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh. A  young man comes to the last hometown of painter Van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist’s final letter and ends up investigating what occurred in the artist’s final days.

6. Abstract 
Where can I see it? Free with a Netflix subscription and the first season is free on YouTube here.
Time: Episodes are about 45 m long
Rating: TV-14
Summary: Step inside the minds of the most innovative designers in a variety of disciplines and learn how design impacts every aspect of life.
My Art Lesson Comment: Some cursing, but not all episodes

7. Leaning into the Wind, Andy Goldsworthy
Where can I see it? Free on Amazon Prime, rent $3.99 or buy for $12.99, free with a Hulu subscription
Time: 1h 37m
Rating: PG
Summary: his documentary film follows Andy on his exploration of the layers of his world and the impact of the years on himself and his art.

8. The Monument Men
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime $3.99 to rent and $7.99 to buy
Time:1 h 58m
Rating: PG-13
Summary: An action-filled drama focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners.

9. Waste Land
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime may have it in some areas (not mine!), but you can watch it here with a public library card.
Time: 1 h 39m
Rating: PG
Summary: An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, and true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.

10. The Simpsons, S10 E19, Mom and Pop Art
Where can I see it? YouTube for $2.99
Time: 23m
Rating: Common Sense Media suggests the Simpsons for 12+, Parent and Children reviewers  suggest 10+
Summary: Homer’s failed do-it-yourself project gets mistaken for “outsider art.” Suddenly in the limelight, Homer must come up with new “works” to impress the art world.

11. This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist
Where can I see it? Free with a Netflix subscription
Time: Each episode is about 50 m long
Rating: Common Sense Media suggests it is appropriate for 16+, Children reviewers suggest 12+
Summary: It was the biggest art heist in history: Over St. Patrick’s Day weekend in 1990, legendary works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and others worth over half a billion dollars today were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This is a four-part documentary series.
My Art Lesson Comments: Has violence, and language.

12. Big Eyes
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime, rent for $3.99 or buy for $9.99
Time: 1h 45m
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A drama about the awakening of painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.
My Art Lesson: The rating is for brief strong language, violence with men exchanging words and brawling in a bar, and comments made about an oppressive marriage.

13. Between the Folds
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime, rent for $3.99 or buy for $19.99
Time: 55m
Rating: G
Summary: Documentary that chronicles the stories of 10 fine artists and intrepid theoretical scientists who have abandoned careers and scoffed at hard-earned graduate degrees–all to forge unconventional lives as modern-day paper folders.
My Art Lesson:  Fascinating and unobjectionable.

14. Frida: Viva la Vida
Where can I see it? Amazon Prime, rent for $4.99 or buy for $12.99
Time: 1h 33m
Rating: G
Summary: This documentary explores Frida’s art as well as her photos, clothes and personal objects not always accessible to the public. But who was Frida in real life? And how much energy and vitality are released from her paintings even when they portray pain and suffering? The film rolls out on a journey in search of Frida.

15. Annie Leibovitz’s Life Through a Lens
Where can I see it? Kanopy (available through partnerships with public libraries and universities, offering free access to users via their library card or university login).
Time: 1h 13m
Rating: TV-14
Summary: Annie Leibovitz enrolled in the San Francisco Art Institute intent on studying painting. It was not until she traveled to Japan with her mother after her sophomore year that she discovered her interest in taking photographs.
My Art Lesson: The TV-14 rating is likely due to the documentary’s exploration of Annie Leibovitz’s life, which includes topics that might not be suitable for younger viewers, such as her relationships, her work with celebrities, and discussions of her personal life. The film also features some scenes that may be considered mature, including discussions about death and grief related to her partner Susan Sontag.

16. At Eternity’s Gate
Where can I see it? Rent on YouTube for $3.79 (also on other platforms as well)
Time: 1h 51m
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.

17. Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art
Where can I see it? Daily Motion, free
Time: 1h 34m
Rating: Not Rated
Summary: “Made You Look” is a crime documentary that exposes the high-stakes world of art forgery and the devastating impact it has on the art world and its participants. It’s a story of greed, deception, and the lengths to which some will go to profit from the art world. 

18. Discovering The de Kooning: A WFAA documentary
Where can I see it? YouTube, free
Time: 24m and 23s
Rating: N/A
Summary: This documentary explores the story of the theft and eventual recovery of a Willem de Kooning painting, titled “Woman-Ochre,” from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1985. The documentary follows the decades-long mystery of the painting’s whereabouts and its return to the museum after being discovered in the estate of a deceased couple, Jerry and Rita Alter.

19. Behind the scenes at Pixar
Where can I see it? YouTube, free
Time: 8m, 39s
Rating: N/A
Summary: Paul MacInnes travels to San Francisco to take a look at the studio and staff behind Toy Story 3
My Art Lesson: Pair it with any number of Pixar animated shorts.

20. Kusama: Infinity
Where can I see it? On a number of platforms, including renting on YouTube for $2.99
Time: 1h 16m
Rating: Unrated
Summary: A look at the life and work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, one of the best-selling female artists in the world.

21. Night at the Museum
Where can I see it? MAny platforms have it, including YouTube for rent for $3.99
Time: 1h and 58m
Rating: PG
Summary: A newly recruited night security guard at the Museum of Natural History discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and exhibits on display to come to life and wreak havoc.
My Art Lesson: A fun and engaging way to introduce or reinforce some art-related concepts, particularly for younger audiences. The films highlight real museums and exhibits, prompting viewers to learn about specific artifacts and historical figures, sometimes even sparking interest in visiting actual museums. 

22. Midnight in Paris
Where can I see it? Rent on Amazon Prime for $3.49
Time: 1h 40m
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A somewhat bohemian American writer goes to Paris with his fiancée and her parents. While wandering the streets, dreaming of the roaring 20s, he falls under a sort of spell. At midnight, somewhere in the Quartier Latin, he is transported to a different universe where he gets to know characters that he never dreamed he would meet…