THE appreciation of the life and work of Professor Michael Sullivan, pictured, (October 10) is most welcome, not least because the Research Excellence Framework, due to publish its judgements next year, would almost certainly fail to value the breadth and depth of a contemporary Sullivan who, according to his close friend from their Cambridge student days, the architect, conservationist and artist, Thomas Affleck Greeves (1917-1997), knew everything and everybody.
For Sullivan was surely what great scholars must be: determinedly independent while always open to collaboration and the sharing of knowledge.
Everyone here in Oxford, and from beyond Oxford, should visit the Khoan and Michael Sullivan Gallery at the Ashmolean, much more than a jewel in the museum’s crown, while Professor Sullivan’s Chinese Art in the Twentieth Century should be essential reading.
BRUCE ROSS-SMITH
Bowness Avenue
Headington
Oxford
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here