jbgotmar

222
WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
More oxford books @ www.OxfordeBook.com
enthusiasm for her message. He wrote an article for YAF’s New Guard
criticizing Rand and her associates as “the founders of a new orthodoxy”
but also asserted, “The value of Objectivism will stand for all
time.” 20
Rand’s attack on the campus clubs was part of her increasing impatience
with NBI students, whom she now regularly assailed during her
question-and-answer sessions. The chance to hear from Rand in person
had originally been one of NBI’s greatest draws. In the beginning she
was a regular attendee at the New York classes and occasionally delivered
a lecture herself. Although she was normally generous in her responses
to general audiences, NBI students were held to higher standards. Rand
was likely to denounce anyone who asked inappropriate or challenging
questions “as a person of low self-esteem” or to have them removed
from the lecture hall. In front of journalists she called one questioner
“a cheap fraud” and told another, “If you don’t know the difference
between the United States and Russia, you deserve to fi nd out!” These
were moments of high drama, with Rand shouting her angry judgments
to the widespread applause of the audience. But this antagonism toward
his paying customers made Nathan extremely uncomfortable, and he
began discouraging her from attending lectures. 21
Always quick to anger, Rand now erupted regularly. She even began
to clash with Frank. Since that fi rst fateful evening with the Collective,
Frank had continued to paint. His work was impressive, and one of his
best paintings, a gritty yet etherial composition of sky, sun, and suspension
bridge graced the cover of a 1968 reissue of The Fountainhead.
But Ayn forbade him to sell his paintings, saying she couldn’t bear to
part with any of them. When she offered unsolicited advice about his
work, he blew up at her. Frank preferred the Art Students League to NBI.
He kept a low profi le, never telling anyone about his famous wife. He
stood out nonetheless. Before either became fashionable, Frank wore
a navy blue cape and carried a shoulder strap bag. His fellow students
described him as “always just very chic, very elegant without overdoing
it.” In 1966 they elected him vice president of the League. This vote
of confi dence came just as Frank’s artistic career was cut short by the
decline of his body. Stricken by a neurological disorder, by the end of
1967 his hands shook so badly he could paint no more. 22 Once playful
and witty, Frank now became sharp and snappish. He withdrew to the
sanctuary of his studio, where he drank his days away.
Fore more urdu books visit www.4Urdu.com