IN RESPONSE to the letter about the Witty Etty statue in Exhibiton Square, why on earth should it be moved?

It’s fine where it has been for at least 30 years. To relocate it “round the back” would be stupid. Let’s not ruin this part of the city, as King’s Square is already ruined.

Paul Baker, Knapton Close, Strensall, York.

 

• BILL HEPPELL (Letters, February 4) is correct in surmising that I wish to see William Etty’s statue retained in its present position in Exhibition Square.

More particularly, the letter to which he refers (Letters, January 28) drew attention to an assurance given by Gill Cooper, head of culture, tourism and city centre, that the statue would not be moved. This assurance was published in The Press of June 25, 2013). I had also received a similar assurance from Cabinet members.

The artist’s impression indicating that the statue might nevertheless be displaced is therefore an anomaly. How can this be explained?

Etty’s art has not always escaped criticism. He earns his pride of place in Exhibition Square not by his art alone, but by his inestimable character, by his devotion to the preservation of York, and by his recognition of York as a world heritage site more than a century and a half before it occurred to anyone else.

William Dixon Smith, Welland Rise, Acomb, York.