New in the renowned "World of Art" series, this is a concise, reliable introduction to the history of American art and architecture from its 17th-century colonial beginnings to the latest installation and video work. Structured chronologically, the book not only discusses all the key artists and architects, art works and buildings, but also succinctly defines the characteristics of the different periods. Lewis charts the way American artists and architects have both adopted and diverged from earlier European models to create a language of their own, and shows how that language has come to dominate the world.