The death has taken place of Prof Noel Sheridan, former director of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin, at the age of 70.
Prof Sheridan, a native of Dublin, had been ill for some time and died on Wednesday at his home in Perth, Australia.
He was director of NCAD from 1979 to 1999 and undertook a four-year hiatus to inaugurate and direct the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in Australia before returning to the NCAD position until 2003.
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue last night paid tribute to Prof Sheridan, describing his influence as "formidable".
"He guided an entire generation of students and educators. He was a true Dubliner, and an artist in his own right. His passing is truly a loss to the world of education and the visual arts," said Mr O'Donoghue.
Last night director of the Arts Council Mary Cloake said Prof Sheridan had built recognition for the visual arts at a time when it was crucially important to do so.
"His commitment to visual arts education laid the foundations for what is now a thriving sector," she said.
Originally an actor and dancer, Prof Sheridan represented Ireland at the 1962 Unesco Convention of Young Painters in Paris, and won the Carroll Prize for painting at the "Living Art" exhibition in Dublin in 1965 and 1969.
Born in Dublin in 1936, Prof Sheridan studied at Trinity College in Dublin and Columbia University in New York.