How do Harris's moral flaws affect the value of his ouevre?

In Canberra, the National Museum of Australia's collection of objects related to Rolf Harris – including a leather jacket and two wobble boards – were removed from display last year. (The National Gallery of Australia reportedly holds no Harris artworks, nor does the Art Gallery of NSW.) Madame Tussaud's in Sydney removed its wax figure of Rolf Harris in May "due to guest feedback".

I am no fan of paedophiles or of those who sexually assault women or adolescents. I do, however, think that we all have good and bad sides to our characters, and that, if we dismiss the artistic or other work of all those with known dark sides, we will end up shunning some of the great achievements of humanity. We should also recognise that (especially for males) the human sex drive has led to a great many of us, including some of our greatest achievers, engaging in unseemly behaviour (albeit legal in most cases).

Famous people, who are widely accepted to have sexually abused children or adolescents include rock star and dancer Michael Jackson, movie director Roman Polanski, composer Benjamin Britten, humanitarian Roger Casement, and author/playwright/wit Oscar Wilde to name but a few. There are many others, including founder of the boy scouts Baden-Powell, Field Marshall Montgomery, and authors J M Barrie and Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), who were also believed to have had had an unhealthy interest in children, though limited specific evidence exists against them.

Many other applauded people are known to have had other serious character defects.

Composer Richard Wagner was a notorious anti-Semite, while fellow composer Dmitri Shostakovich allowed himself to be used by Stalin for propaganda purposes. There are innumerable celebrities, who are known to have committed criminal acts, while countless numbers have had unsavoury sex lives or abused drugs or alcohol. Famous painter Pablo Picasso was said to have called all women goddesses or doormats, and (with his cruelty and betrayal) drove many of his lovers to despair (and even suicide). Bill Clinton (generally regarded as one of America's better presidents) came close to being brought down by sexual misconduct allegations. Bad behaviour even extends to Saints. St. Augustineduring his misspent youth is said to have uttered his now infamous prayer: "Lord grant me chastity and continence, but not yet", while St Paul before his conversion had persecuted Christians, and in his subsequent saintly life has been accused of being an unmitigated misogynist.

Over time all these people have been remembered mainly for their positive achievements and the significance of their character blemishes has faded in the public mind. Nobody seriously advocates burning Picasso's paintings or Michael Jackson CDs. People still read "Alice in Wonderland" and orchestras and chamber musicians still play Shostakovich and Wagner (though Wagner is still largely banned in Israel).

So what of Rolf Harris? For decades Harris brought joy to audiences, and was liked because he appeared to be warm and "wore his heart on his sleeve". He also he did a lot for charity and had also (until recently) contributed in a very positive way to the image of Australia. We now, of course, know about his dark side.

I can't help thinking that the reaction against Harris has been heightened because another celebrity, Jimmy Savile, "got away with it". Harris' crimes (along with those of publicist Max Clifford) largely came to prominence because of Operation Yewtree, the Metropolitan police inquiry launched in October 2012 when Savile's crimes came to light. While Harris' crimes can't be excused, they fall well short of what Savile is now accused of. The final Yewtree report on Savile identified 450 victims over five decades, many of whom accuse him of rape. Savile was a predatory sex offender, and may have been one of Britain's most prolific such offenders.

Harris clearly did not go nearly as far as Saville. The alleged number of his offences appear to be only a fraction of Savile's. Harris' offending also, while serious and permanently scarring some victims, was on the lower scale for sex offences. He is guilty of indecent assault but, as far as we know, he is not accused of the more serious charge of rape.

Harris' conviction is welcome as a blow against impunity for celebrity sex offenders, no matter how elderly. In its wake it is natural that the public is revolted by the extent of his indecent assaults, and that (in the short term) people have little appetite for any entertainment or art associated with him. I just think that we should not lose sight of his good side or permanently mislay the heritage he left behind in art and entertainment.