Perfumed garden
Sir: I would not normally wish to prolong correspondence over what you concede (Leader, 13 April) was a misprint. However, you have, whether intentionally or not, mis- interpreted my comments (Letters, 6 April).
I wasn't for one moment claiming that artists are all on the Left. Like most other groups in society, artists embrace a range of political views. Monet, as you rightly point- ed out, sat out the events of 1871 in the safety of London while Courbet, whom you did not mention, risked his life with the Communards in Paris. Cezanne's attitude
LETTERS
to Dreyfus was, as you say, reactionary, while his school-friend, Zola, who again went unmentioned, led the campaign to secure justice for the wronged army officer.
However, while they did indeed disagree profoundly on such issues, I suspect that they would all have been in agreement with me in poking fun at The Spectator for mixing up Monet's garden with a French perfume.
Nick Raynsford House of Commons, London SW1
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