Patrick Wintour likens the British Museum’s loan/swap of the Bayeux tapestry for treasures from Sutton Hoo to France’s 1963 loan of the Mona Lisa to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as examples of art’s service in international diplomacy (The diplomacy of art: Bayeux tapestry loan shows cultural gifts still matter, 11 July). The example is inauspicious.
While at the Met, the Leonardo was stored in a strongroom overnight. One night, a fire sprinkler malfunctioned and sprayed water over the picture for hours. Fortunately, it was face up and therefore the paint layers were protected by the glass cover. Had it been face down, its panel would have been saturated and warped, with horrendous consequences. The incident was covered up – and was only disclosed (unofficially) three decades later by the ex-Met director Thomas Hoving in his memoir.
Michael Daley
Director, ArtWatch UK
