Robert O’Byrne surely gave a hostage to fortune when he chose the title for his new book, for how could he know it would still be accurate when the book appeared? All the more admirable, however, are his erudition, his thoroughness and, not least, his prose style. His book is not only a comprehensive record of Irish artists now at work, at home and abroad, but also a subtle overview of the current state of the plastic arts in Ireland. It is, by necessity, a selection – as the author notes in his foreword: “The essays are an introduction to the 200 artists selected and do not claim to be definitive accounts of their lives and work.”
It is by now a hoary old canard that, while Ireland can produce great writers, we are weak in the visual arts. If such a notion needed disproving, this dictionary does so triumphantly, displaying as it does a remarkable richness of talent and an extraordinary diversity of achievement. The book is beautifully produced and packaged, worth every cent of the purchase price, and would make a welcome bulge in the Christmas stocking of anyone in the least interested in Irish art and Irish artists. Dictionary of Living Irish Artists, by Robert O'Byrne, is published by Plurabelle Publishing, €75.
