The National Self-Portrait Collection is a visual record of the exciting range of styles and approach employed by over 400 artists, writes James Hanley in this review of Volume 2
Founded in 1980 with a core collection of fifteen self-portraits, and currently containing over 400 works, the National Self-Portrait Collection is administered and housed by the University of Limerick. The National Self-Portrait Collection has been aiming since its inception for quality and distinction, attempting to reflect the spectrum of the arts on the island, and it has become a valuable and well-documented national reference collection. The Collection is added to annually by a dozen or so works, by inviting artists to make and donate a self-portrait. Purchasing of deceased artists’ self-portraits is also done where possible, to fill in historical gaps. The Collection grows at the annual rate of about twelve pieces a year
