Does going to an art gallery make you less stressed? | Art and design

“The research clearly shows the stress-reducing properties of viewing original art,” says Dr Tony Wood of King’s College London (Image for Health: Going to art galleries could improve well-being, study reveals, October 28). I dispute this interpretation because it is clear that the study was not designed to allow for a stress-reducing difference between the environments in which participants viewed original artworks or copies of them.

Eliminating this factor would have required studying heart rate, skin temperature, and saliva in two other collections: one displaying original artworks in a non-gallery setting and the other displaying copies of the same paintings in the Courtauld Gallery. Without these controls, the study does not show whether stressors were reduced by viewing original artworks, or by the atmosphere of an art gallery.
Peter Lowe
Newcastle upon Tyne

My good friend Douglas and I are living proof that art gallery visits can do you good, although a coffee and bacon roll beforehand and a couple of pints afterwards should also be taken into account.
Alex Dickey
Edinburgh