Cally Blackman’s support for the curating of the Tate’s John Singer Sargent exhibition is very strong and firmly based in her extensive scholarship in fashion history (Letters, 23 February). But I think she has misunderstood Jonathan Jones’s critique. The show is about Sargent paintings, and Jones’s critique is not based on snobbish old ideas of art appreciation. It is about viewers seeing the paintings themselves in their real glory. Most Sargent lovers only ever see small reproductions in books. The fabulous dresses and artefacts should take centre stage in the V&A alongside photos of the paintings.
Linda Karlsen
Whitstable, Kent
• If councils are so short of money that they are turning off street lights (Report, 26 February), how will they cope in October 2025, when the level of care home residents’ savings that is protected rises from £23,250 to £100,000?
Vanessa Simonite
Wantage, Oxfordshire
