Who's who of Irish art

GIVEN that the last dictionary of Irish artists was published by Walter Strickland in 1913, everyone interested in this subject will welcome the appearance of a new work covering the intervening period. Theo Snoddy's Dictionary of Irish Artists - 20th century has already garnered much-deserved praise and for once is certain to justify being described as invaluable. Currently art adviser to Ulster Television, Mr Snoddy has spent many years compiling this hook, which features entries on some 500 Irish painters, sculptors, stained glass artists and designers.

Essentially a work of reference, the dictionary eschews personal opinion, although quotations from contemporary reviews are frequently given. In order to limit his scope, the author does not include any living artists but only those who died before the end of 1990. Understandably, Mr Snoddy's definition of who qualifies as Irish is flexible; "being born in Ireland and leaving in childhood, never to return," he writes in his introduction, "was not conducive to inclusion." Equally, he does include artists such as Paul Nietsche, who was born in Kiev but spent the last 25 years of his life in Ireland.

All the major Irish artists of this century are represented as well as many whose names will be known only to specialists. "No attempt was made to select the `professional' in preference to the `amateur,' writes Mr Snoddy, and part of the interest of a dictionary such as this lies in discovering hitherto unknown names. After a generous biographical entry, the author has helpfully included details of how each artist signed his or her name, examples of where work may be seen in public collections and bibliographical information. In addition, there is a select bibliography at the end of the book.

This dictionary is a truly exceptional piece of work which deserves to be bought by all collectors of Irish art. If there is any criticism, it is that the book has no illustrations, which may be a disadvantage when lesser-known artists are being considered. However, the works is unlikely to be superseded and will without doubt become a standard source in the years ahead.