Tate’s preaching detracts from the joy of art

SIR – In his review (May 23) of the Tate Britain rehang, Alastair Sooke asks: “Where’s the love?”

The same might be asked of Tate Modern, where I came away after a recent visit wearied and dispirited by being constantly preached at on the evils of British culture. Of the beauty and joy of art, there was very little. Graham Jones

Huby, North Yorkshire

SIR – The Tate Britain rehang has, among other things, sought to put our colonial past in the spotlight – and not in a good way.

I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we see the renaming of this institution, since it was founded on the profits of the evil sugar trade. In fact, it would be a double victory for the woke brigade: an exploiter of slaves and a cause of obesity attacked in one move. Mike Tugby

Warminster, Wiltshire

SIR – After many years of visiting Tate Britain and enjoying the visual pleasures of the art on display, will I now have to endure an unwanted history lesson? I just want to appreciate the art, not form opinions of the artist.

Ray Scutt

Ware, Hertfordshire

SIR – I’d like to reassure your readers that John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott has not been sent to storage (“Tate tars popular works with imperial brush”, report, May 23).

The painting is on loan to Falmouth Art Gallery for a major exhibition this summer and will return to our walls afterwards. Tate is one of the world’s biggest lenders of art, and I’m proud we share the national collection across the UK in this way.

Anthony Caro and David Bomberg also remain well represented here by fantastic large-scale works, including new acquisitions that we’re delighted to share with the public for the first time. The rehang simply puts these much-loved artists side by side with less familiar artists, shedding new light on both. I encourage everyone to visit Tate Britain and see this for themselves.

Alex Farquharson

Director, Tate Britain

London SW1