Guardian readers respond to a study claiming the benefits of viewing works of art“The research clearly shows the stress-reducing properties of viewing original art,” says Dr Tony Wood of King’s College London (Picture of health: going to art galleries can improve wellbeing, study reveals, 28 October). I dispute this interpretation as the study was clearly not designed to allow for the stress-reducing differential between the environments in which participants viewed original artworks or copies of them.Elimination of this factor would have required study of heart rate, skin temperature and saliva in two further groups: one viewing original artworks in a non-gallery environment and the second viewing copies of the same paintings at the Courtauld Gallery. Without these controls, the study does not show if stress factors are reduced by viewing original artworks, or by the ambience of an art gallery.
Peter Lowe
Newcastle upon Tyne Continue reading...
Monday 3 November 2025
theguardian - 21 hours ago
Does going to an art gallery make you less stressed? | Letters
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