Exhibition of the century

The premise of Artists' Century at the RHA Gallagher Gallery is very simple. One hundred top-notch works by 100 20th-century Irish artists are displayed along with self-portraits by the artists. The result is a fascinating whistle-stop tour of 20th-century Irish art and, more, an irresistible insight into how the artists view themselves.

Not a minor part of the show's appeal is that it satisfies our natural curiosity about what particular artists looks like, from a rakish Patrick Collins to Eilis O'Connell's eerie Life-Mask. The time-honoured practice of making self-portraits was cannily noticed by the University of Limerick, which has built up the now formidable National Self-Portrait Collection. The kernel of the collection was a group of 15 self-portraits purchased in 1977 from John Kneafsey. The RHA then invited its members to contribute works and the enterprise has grown steadily since. When the idea of an exhibition of the collection as it now stands was mooted, one of the trustees, the RHA's Liam Belton, came up with the ingenious and rather more ambitious scheme which eventually resulted in Artists' Century. Some reinforcements to the university's collection have also been rounded up and included.

When it comes to self-portraiture, the artists' reticence is notable when you think of the late 20th-century trend towards relentless self-promotion exemplified by the likes of Andy Warhol, Gilbert & George or Tracy Emin - although Robert Ballagh is represented by what are effectively two self-portraits, including his notoriously revealing Upstairs No 3, in which he is bravely clad only in tee-shirt and socks. Nigel Rolfe also puts in a dual appearance, subjecting his face to some mild assault and battery on both occasions. Louis le Brocquy has made the human head the subject of a lifetime's work, so it's fair enough that his own visage gets the le Brocquy treatment in Study of Self in Watercolour. Equally, box-maker Graham Gingles gets the full Gingles treatment in his typically unsettling little self-portrait box, in which he resides like a little voodoo doll.

Others exercise considerable ingenuity so as to avoid appearing in person. They let their work stand in for them.

Felim Egan's self-portrait is to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from his customary abstracts, as is, in quite a different idiom, Richard Gorman's. Deirdre McLoughlin offers a bird-like ceramic in lieu of her own image, and Marie Foley an entirely allegorical drawing, picturing herself as a fish and a bird head held in the balance: neither fish nor fowl? Hair characteristically dominates Alice Maher's Self Portrait: Four Views, accompanied by her extraordinary Bee Dress.

The links between self-image and work are varied and subtle, from the spiky concision of William Scott's head and shoulders to the graphic starkness of his abstract still-life.

Then there's the curious empathy between Carolyn Mulholland's portrait drawing and her excellent sculpture, Little Fat Figure. Michael Mulcahy's raw gesturalism carries seamlessly over from figuration to symbolism. The freedom of the Edward Maguire head study, admittedly just a sketch, is a surprise, coming as it does from one of Irish art's foremost control freaks. There's something furtive and oblique about William Leech's self-portrait, in which he looks like a character in a British TV suburban sitcom, something that illuminates his work in general.

Artists' Century is not strictly a representative, never mind comprehensive survey of 20th-century Irish art. It's too quirky and skewed for that, but it does manage to incorporate many of the more significant names and trends, including those with their roots firmly in the 19th century, such as Walter Osborne, John Lavery and Roderic O'Conor, whose assured familiarity with Post-Impressionism stands out as usual in conservative company. Jack B. Yeats is not shown at his best, and stands back to let Yeats Senior, John B., demonstrate yet again what a fine portrait painter he was.

One advantage of the Gallagher is that it can accommodate exceptionally large works. Major works don't have to be big, but it is nice all the same to see relatively large paintings by Felim Egan, Barrie Cooke, David Crone, Basil Blackshaw, Jack Pakenham, Gene Lambert, James Hanley and Patrick Graham - whose Song of the Yellow Bittern stands its ground as a key Irish artwork of its time. There are other, not necessarily big pieces that nonetheless stop you in your tracks, including works by Hughie O'Donoghue, Gwen O'Dowd, and Carey Clarke.

With superb examples from each, Michael O'Dea and Charles Cullen fly the flag for drawing. Apart from such incidental felicities, though, something incalculable happens when self-portraits are juxtaposed with works proper. The exhibition becomes both an overall story and an endlessly diverting series of stories along the way. For whatever reason, it is an exceptionally and consistently involving exhibition.

Artists' Century is at the RHA Gallagher Gallery in Dublin until March 19th. It is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, with a text by historian Dr Paula Murphy