The secret to enjoying an art gallery? Less is more | Letters

Letters: Readers respond to an article in which Isabel Brooks described feeling overwhelmed by the number of artworks on display

Of course Isabel Brooks is right, and it is very easy to get indigestion when visiting a large gallery (The hill I will die on: Let me tell you the one big problem with art galleries. There’s too much art, 30 May). No one attending a banquet of hundreds of delicious dishes would attempt to sample them all. Self-discipline is needed in both cases. In Britain we must count ourselves lucky that access to our major galleries is free, so there is no discouragement to going often, but for a shorter time. Special exhibitions of a particular artist or group, where works are brought together from around the world, are of course different – there the comparison of an artist’s development through his or her life justifies a longer focus on all the works.

Having said that, I would agree that the most satisfying galleries are the smaller ones – for example the Frick Collection in New York or the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. But even at the latter, when we took our nine-year-old granddaughter there, we invited her to look at just one painting, Rembrandt’s Girl at a Window. She subsequently drew her version of it and there is no doubt that that wonderful little painting will now be in her visual memory for life.
Peregrine Bryant
London

• Oh, my goodness, Isabel Brooks. A woman after my own heart! Fervent thanks for absolving me from the shame of my low saturation threshold when visiting art exhibitions and showing me that I am not alone. A couple of years ago, I fulfilled a promise to myself to attend the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy for the first time and, sadly, the last.

Catalogue in hand, I dutifully started at exhibit one, referring to it for artist, title, materials etc, moving slowly on until I got to about number five and, seeing how many items there were, gave it up as totally impractical and decided to only refer to the information provided for the ones that drew my eye, which I’m afraid, only constituted a very small fraction of the whole.

That was by no means my first experience of being totally overwhelmed, and inevitably led me to doubt my initial interest in a particular artist, which drew me to attending a show in the first place and diluted my anticipated enjoyment. Less is definitely more.
Sandra Dudley
Halesowen, West Midlands

• I made the same mistake as Isabel Brooks in art galleries and museums when I was young – I’d feel the need to see all I possibly could, to “make the most of it”. That’s changed drastically. Now I walk into a room, I glance round, not too quickly, but not gazing. If one or more pictures attract my attention in some way, I’ll approach, look more carefully, maybe read the little card nearby.

I’ll repeat that in maybe three or four more rooms. I may feel like a cafe visit partway through will help me ponder on a couple that stay with me. If none do, so be it, I enjoyed looking. Finally, the gift shop. Maybe. This way I enjoy art; less is more. I may even remember one or two pieces (and even the artist’s name). Do try it!
Sonia Hartman
Hadleigh, Suffolk

• Can I share a secret? You don’t have to look at every painting when visiting an art gallery, and nobody’s checking that you do. Find one you like and spend some time with it.

And if you don’t trust yourself, ask the staff: “If there was only time to see one thing here, what would you suggest?” You’ll often be sent to see something quiet and quite wonderful.

But if you really do want to see everything: the rules are: start 1.5 metres back, lean in after about 30 seconds to look at a detail, then nod wisely as you step back to your original position. And repeat for the next painting.
Dan Thompson
Margate, Kent

• Can I recommend to Isabel Brooks the “five paintings” method of visiting an art gallery?

When my dad took us to the National Gallery, he would guide us to five carefully selected paintings. We’d spend about five minutes in front of each one, where he’d share his immense knowledge and enthusiasm about the painter, the history, the way the light fell across the table. Then we’d go and have a very decent lunch.

Of course not everyone has such a dad. Very sadly I don’t either any more. But with the gallery’s audioguide I’ve recreated (part of) the experience. I let myself be guided to five paintings through the app, and I look at each one while the curators share their thoughts with me. Around five minutes per painting. And then I go to the cafe.
Kitty Stewart
London

• Finally, there’s someone admitting “museum fatigue”. I’ve suffered its debilitating effects for years. The most relaxing feature of an art gallery, for me, is the cafe.
Margaret Ward
Cockermouth, Cumbria

• I agree with Isabel Brooks that there is a lot of art in galleries and museums. Thank goodness. Aren’t we lucky? I wonder if her problem with this lies in the way she visits.

For as long as I can remember, we have employed a strategy when encountering large collections that has kept ourselves and our children and friends interested and engaged on every visit. Basically it’s this: when entering a new room, do a quick review and choose one work that attracts you – this could be for any reason. The second stage is just to stand and look. After that, begin to talk together about the work; how it relates to yourself, your emotional response, the use of colour, texture, composition and so on. Speculate who it could be by, and which period of art it slots into. The last step is to read the label. Take no photos.

If you have really looked, the work will stay with you for life, as will the connection you made with your group. If you are alone it gives you the opportunity to spend a long time with each work; the artist has spent time on creating the piece, it deserves your attention.

Of course you won’t see everything, but you will take away a rich experience with what you did spend time with as well as carrying the feeling “one day I’ll go back and see …”
Mary Webster
Wageningen, The Netherlands

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