This book examines Irish art over the last hundred and twenty years or so, from 1900 to now, considering key examples and developments and how visual expression can be read for what it reflects and reveals of art and society during this time. Art in Ireland was peculiarly shaped on one hand by the country's geographic isolation, political upheaval, religious repression and its post-colonial history, and on the other by the interconnections with the world as a consequence of factors, including diaspora, location (between Europe and America), and cultural aspirations.

Alongside all the changes that a maturing state, relative prosperity, and a regular flow of intercommunications with the outside world brought, there were two key developments that responded to the growing interest in and confidence in the visual arts, and that led ultimately to the idea for this book: the foundation of IMMA in 1991; and the establishment of an educational environment dedicated to, rather than simply including, Irish art, formalised with the establishment of a more focused teaching and research on Irish art at all levels.