Arnold Bruce. Irish Art. A concise history

Revised Edition. — Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1991. — 184 p. — ISBN: 0-500-20148-X.Irish art of the early Christian era is justly celebrated. So, too, are the individual contributions of artists such as Jack B. Yeats. What is perhaps less widely accepted is the existence of a continuing and developing tradition of Irish art from the earliest times to the present day. Bruce Arnold traces the complex evolution of Irish art through three millennia, showing how it has drawn on Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Mediterranean and other diverse sources. As the story unfolds, Arnold repatriates Irish artists who are frequently regarded as 'English' — including William Mulready, Daniel Maclise and James Barry - and shows how Irish paintings and sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork and architecture together form a rich and distinctive cultural heritage. 'Mr Arnold's enthusiasm pleasantly reminds the stranger in Ireland that there is more to be seen than the natural beauty of the tourist advertisements, and his scholarship should prove a more stimulating companion than many a conventional guide' (William Trevor, The Guardian) 'Fulfils a unique role by presenting us with so thorough a discourse and so rewarding a view ofthis most neglected but most important aspect or our culture(The Irish Press).