The history of British art is the story of Britain. For centuries, artists have reflected our times and shaped the way we see ourselves. This series presents six passionate polemics on how British art makes us who we are today and gives us a vision of ourselves.

Dr Gus Casely-Hayford shows how our sense of identity was changed forever by the most distinctively British artist this country has ever produced: William Hogarth.

Writer Howard Jacobson celebrates the way British artists depict sex and desire, and argues that the most compelling expression is to be found where we might least expect it: in the art of the Victorians.

At a time when Britain's contemporary art world has been dominated by the 'Sensation' generation of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, it's easy to dismiss English landscape art as nothing more than tea towel culture. That would be a big mistake, argues Sir Roy Strong.

Modern Art has made us who we are and it has certainly made Janet Street Porter who she is. Janet speaks to Hirst, Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry about how art has seeped into the very heart of British culture.

Britain's war artists have pushed the boundaries in their drive to bring home to us the true cost of war. We once celebrated war's valour and glory, but they have encouraged us to feel its pain and tragedy. They have given us an artistic legacy that will continue to provoke and to move generations to come.