Anne Crookshank is Fellow Emerita, formerly professor of the history of art, at Trinity College Dublin. She is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy. The Knight of Glin is Doctor in Letters Honoria Causa of Trinity College Dublin; president of the Irish Georgian Society; director of the Irish Architectural Archive; and Christie's representative in Ireland.

A survey of the history of Irish painting, encompassing the entire span from the Middle Ages to the mid-20th century. The volume includes both well-known and virtually unknown artists, Irish artists who worked abroad as well as in Ireland, and major foreign artists who worked in Ireland.