Mr Snoddy was an administrative employee of the News Letter in Donegall Street, Belfast, for 50 years, starting when he was 15 and rising to managerial status.

His arts column was very widely read and for many years he was arts advisor for Ulster Television.

In 1996 he published a book called Dictionary of Irish Artists: 20th Century.

Mr Snoddy was also the hockey correspondent of the News Letter, having been in his younger years captain and founder member of the Old Boys' team at Friends' School, Lisburn.

He was also chairman of the board of governors at the school.

Mr Snoddy belonged to a Quaker family and worshipped at the Quaker Meeting House in south Belfast, where he lived.

Mr Snoddy is survived by his wife Betty, sons Alan, Michael, Paul and Stephen and daughter Sheila. His son Alan was a well-known Irish League soccer referee.

Mr Snoddy will be buried in the Balmoral burying ground tomorrow afternoon prior to his service at the Quaker Meetinghouse in south Belfast at 2.30pm.

Theo Snoddy was an art critic for the Belfast News Letter and the author of the seminal Dictionary of Irish Artists: 20th Century. The book was a successor to, and complemented, Walter Strickland's Dictionary of Irish Artists, which was published in 1913.

Essentially a work of reference and first published in 1996, the dictionary eschews personal opinion, although quotations from contemporary reviews are frequently given. In order to limit his scope, Snoddy did not include any living artists.

All the leading Irish artists are represented as well as many whose names will be known only to specialists. "No attempt was made to select the professional in preference to the amateur," wrote Snoddy, and part of the interest of a dictionary such as this lies in discovering hitherto unknown names. After a generous biographical entry, the author included details of how each artist signed his or her name, where the artist's work may be seen and bibliographical information.

The book was well received. Brian Fallon in The Irish Times wrote, "This looks like becoming the standard work of its kind. I shall guard my copy carefully and shall stubbornly refuse to lend it out." The Times Literary Supplement described it as a classic, praising its formidable research.

Declan McGonagle wrote of the second edition, published in 2002 with 100 additional entries, that it is "not only informative, but also, curiously for a Dictionary, a good read".

Theodore John Snoddy was born in 1922 in Lurgan, Co Armagh, the son of a shipyard worker. He attended Cooke Elementary Primary School and Friends' School, Lisburn.

He joined the Belfast News Letter, now known simply as the News Letter, at 15, retiring in 1977 as purchasing manager. His interest in the visual arts stemmed from visits with his parents to the Ulster Museum, Belfast.

For 30 years he was the News Letter's art critic, reviewing exhibitions across Ireland. In the 1960s and 1970s he was its hockey correspondent.

Snoddy was art adviser to Ulster Television between 1988 and 2004 and purchased works for the company's art collection, the largest of its kind in Northern Ireland. The collection amassed more than 200 works by artists including F. E. McWilliam, Basil Blackshaw, Carolyn Mulholland and Neil Shawcross. Snoddy was involved in building the collection for 15 years, and works from it have been shown in exhibitions across Ireland.

He also enjoyed bowls and was the founding editor and publisher of The Bowler. He was a founder member and first captain of Friends' School Old Boys' hockey club and former chair of the school's board of governors.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, four sons and a daughter.

Theo Snoddy, art critic and author, was born on November 30, 1922. He died on June 12, 2008, aged 85