Do you want to learn about the artist Benjamin West but don't have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this is the short and concise book for you! • Grew up in colonial Pennsylvania and with little formal instruction became a portrait painter at a very young age. • The first American artist to travel to Italy to study the art of the great masters. • Painted the first historical art in America. • His art helped transform the Neoclassical art world. • Historical painter for Britain's King George III. • Helped found the Royal Academy of Art in London. • His "American School" in London trained three generations of American artists, including such noted artists as: Charles Willson Peale, his son Rembrandt Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, John Copley, and many others. The book "The American-British Artist Benjamin West: A Short Biography" gives a crisp look at the life and times of the artist Benjamin West. To illustrate the story of his life there are numerous pictures of the people, places, and events that were part of the life of this great American-British artist. In addition, the book contains: a list of reference books for further reading, a timeline of West's life and events of that period of history, and a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.