Death of Ian Hill – art critic.

Leading Northern Ireland art critic Ian Hill has died suddenly.

Mr Hill a noted journalist and writer on travel and the arts passed away in the company of his wife Helena at their Strangford home at 10 o’ clock this morning.

He suffered a suspected heart attack. He had two grown up daughters.

Ian Hill studied dentistry at Queen’s but opted for a career in the arts world writing prolifically on all manifestations of the arts, a passion engendered from his student days at Queen’s where he edited Gown the college magazine.

He did drama and wrote about the theatre and art exhibitions and was deemed encyclopaedic on travel. One acquaintance said “no matter where in the world you mentioned Ian could tell you the name of a good restaurant.”

He worked for many publications including the Newsletter, the Irish Times, the Belfast Telegraph, and more recently The Ulster Tatler.

His grieving wife Helena told me this evening “he was just a great man dearly loved. I knew him since my student days.”
Eamonn Mallie

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