This book introduces 15 of Ireland's most interesting painters and reproduces a selection of their work.

Art and the Nation State is a wide-ranging study of the reception and critical debate on modernist art from the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 to the end of the modernist era in the 1970s. Drawing on art works, media coverage, reviews, writings and the private papers of key Irish and international artists, critics and commentators including Samuel Beckett, Thomas MacGreevy, Clement Greenberg, James Johnson Sweeney, Herbert Read and Brian O'Doherty, the study explores the significant contribution of Irish modernist art to post-independence cultural debate and diverging notions of national Irish identity. Through an analysis of major controversies, the book examines how the reputations of major Irish artists was moulded by the prevailing demands of national identity, modernization and the dynamics of the international art world. Debate about the relevance of the work of leading international modernists such as the Irish-American sculptor, Andrew O'Connor, the French expressionist painter, Georges Rouault, the British sculptor Henry Moore and the Irish born, but ostensibly British, artist Francis Bacon to Irish cultural life is also analysed, as is the equally problematic positioning of Northern Irish artists.

Marking the 150th anniversary of the National Gallery of Ireland, celebrated Irish writers find inspiration in its magnificent collection In 1864 the National Gallery of Ireland opened to the public in Dublin. It then housed just 112 paintings. Today the gallery holds over 15,000 works of European art and is notable both for its extensive collection of Irish art and its Italian baroque and Dutch masters paintings. For this anthology, published to mark the 150th anniversary of the National Gallery of Ireland, fifty-six Irish writers have contributed short stories, essays, and poems inspired by pictures in the collection. These literary responses to art are by turns profound, playful, and insightful. Authors include acclaimed figures in contemporary Irish literature, such as Colm Tóibín, John Banville, John Boyne, Roddy Doyle, Colum McCann, Paula Meehan, Paul Muldoon, John Montague, and Seamus Heaney. The pictures that the writers have selected are intriguingly diverse. They range from old master paintings by Caravaggio, Rembrandt, El Greco, and Velázquez to works by Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet and Pierre Bonnard, as well as works by Irish artists such as Jack B. Yeats, John Lavery, Gerard Dillon, and Paul Henry. The book is organized alphabetically by writer and each text is illustrated with the chosen work in color. Edited with preface by Janet McLean, Curator of European Art 1850–1950 at the NGI.

"Provides historical overview of Celtic art; step-by-step instructions for creating twists, braids, and knotted lines; over 200 patterns; a guide to using color in your work; and a gallery of the author's art using Celtic knot work"--

A 21st- century Book of Kells that brings together the work of more than 150 poets, visual artists, and calligraphers. Scotland and Ireland share a mythology, a rich music tradition, languages and some history. Irish Gaels, known as Scoti, invaded Scotland in the 5th century and gave it their name. An Leabhar Mòr is a major artwork which renews the connection between Gaelic Scotland and Ireland and celebrates the diverse strands of contemporary Celtic culture. A beautiful book featuring work from every century between the sixth and the twenty-first - contains the earliest Gaelic poetry in existence. One hundred visual artists respond to the poetry in a variety of media. Includes work by poets Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and Máire Mhac an tSaoi and by artists Allan Davie, Will Maclean and Rita Duffy among others. There is a website for the book, full of more information and details of related projects. Click here to watch a slideshow of 18 of the artworks in the book. Here are two samples 100 specially-commissioned artworks in the book, to whet your appetite: Art by Doug Cocker inspired by Tairseacha by Liam Ó Muirthile (b. 1950) Art by Andrew Folan inspired by An Scáthán by Michael Davitt (1950-2005)

This comprehensive, major reference work contains entries for some 500 artists including Paul Henry, Evie Hone, Mainie Jellett, Sir John Lavery, Sir William Orpen, Jack B. Yeats & his father, John Butler Yeats.