Ulster Museum of Fine Art
Botanic Gardens
Belfast
BT9 5AB

The museum is home to a rich collection of art, history and natural sciences and free to all visitors. The Fine Art collection contains a multitude of art works of national and international significance, executed in a variety of styles and media. Amongst the earlier British paintings are portraits by Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds, whilst landscape artists include Richard Wilson and J.M.W. Turner.

The Old Masters art collection - small but significant - comprises works by Dutch, Flemish and Italian masters, with the best-known names being Jacob Jordaens and Pompeo Batoni. The Irish collection - the backbone of the entire holdings - contains art works dating from the late seventeenth century to the present day, with paintings by well-known Irish painters such as James Arthur O'Connor, Roderic O'Conor and Walter Osborne; also, by illustrious Ulster artists like Sir John Lavery, John Luke and William Conor.

The Museum also owns a highly important collection of twentieth-century and modern art, by British and foreign artists. The modern section was built up during the 1960s, at a time when such art works were considered challenging and experimental. During this decade, few museums collected contemporary art and the Museum was famous for the daring of its acquisitions policy. Notable artists represented include Karel Appel, Jean Dubuffet, Francis Bacon and the sculptor Henry Moore. Of particular interest is a small but important collection of American 'Colour Field' paintings by Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland and others. The 1960s collection, one of the most important of the period outside London, includes art work by Patrick Caulfield and Bridget Riley.

Irish Museum of Modern Art
Royal Hospital
Military Road
Kilmainham
Dublin
Dublin County

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. The Museum presents a wide variety of art in a programme of exhibitions, which regularly includes bodies of work from its own Collection. It also creates more widespread access to art and artists through its Studio and National programmes.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art was established by the Government of Ireland in 1990 as Ireland's first national institution for the presentation and collection of modern and contemporary art. The Museum was officially opened in 1991 and has established itself as a significant and dynamic presence in the Irish art galleries scene and the international arts arena.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is located to the west of Dublin's city centre in Royal Hospital Kilmainham one of the finest 17th-century buildings in Ireland. The style is based on Les Invalides in Paris with a formal facade and a large elegant courtyard. The IMMA has proved to be a valuable and popular addition to the Irish art and cultural infrastructure. More than 400,000 Irish and overseas art visitors visit each year.

The original stables of the Royal Hospital have been restored, extended and converted into artists' studios and the Museum runs an artist in residence programme. The Museum also has community and education programmes and a national programme whereby it exhibits art works from its collection in other venues.