Is sRGB material (e.g. photos my digital camera took, which I assume are sRGB) actually "intended" to be displayed with a gamma of 2.4?
I'm afraid I cannot answer that question. As I understand it, sRGB was devised as generic space for consumer devices, and for a long time this meant (for monitors) "uncalibrated CRT display with approx. gamma of 2.4". But today there are also LCD displays wich have a sRGB response or atleast claim so. It is really hard to tell which viewing condition is "correct" for sRGB.
Regards, Florian