James S. Ackerman bol popredným historikom umenia a architektúry, ktorého práca sa sústredila na taliansku renesanciu. Svojím bádaniami prispel k hlbšiemu pochopeniu vzťahu medzi formou a ideológiou, najmä v kontexte architektonických diel. Jeho analýzy sa vyznačujú precíznosťou a schopnosťou prepojiť historický kontext s umeleckou formou. Jeho vplyv na štúdium renesančnej architektúry je trvalý.
"In The Villa, James Ackerman explores villa building in the West from ancient Rome to twentieth-century France and America. In this wide-ranging book, he illuminates such topics as the early villas of the Medici, the rise of the "country place" as a focus for examining the relationships between urban and rural life, between architectural design and social, cultural, economic, and political forces" -- Book cover
Palladio (1508-80) combined classical restraint with constant inventiveness. In this study, Professor Ackerman sets Palladio in the context of his age - the Humanist era of Michelangelo and Raphael, Titian and Veronese - and examines each of the villas, churches and palaces in turn.