David Scott holds a personal chair in French (Textual & Visual Studies) at Trinity College Dublin. He has written widely on literature, painting, semiotics and textual/ visual studies, and has organised many international exhibitions on arts and design. He was formerly curator of the Modern Art Collection, Trinity College Dublin (1977-92), a director of the Douglas Hyde Gallery (1979-91) and the organizer of Trinity College’s 1992 400th anniversary exhibition. His interests include gardens, travel and sport, especially athletics and boxing.