In 1930, Lewis was the first American ever awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. While a Nobel Prize is awarded to the author, not the work, and itself does not cite a particular work for which he was chosen, "Main Street" was Lewis' best-known work and enormously popular at the time. In the Nobel committee's presentation speech, both "Main Street" and "Arrowsmith" were cited. The prize was awarded "... for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters."