Note: this short essay was written in 1996, originally as a post to an Objectivism email discussion group. The one update that seemed necessary and I have made since then was to add a paragraph in 2009 about Anne Heller's book.
It is a very common statement, which you are likely to hear in any discussion of art in relation to Objectivism, that Ayn Rand was intolerant of artistic tastes different from her own, and often berated or rejected people for their artistic tastes. Many Objectivists believe this claim, and find it highly disturbing. My purpose here is to evaluate the actual evidence regarding this claim.
Statements about Rand's intolerance towards different artistic tastes are hardly ever presented with any amount of detail or specific evidence; it is usually stated as something that "everybody knows". Well, "everybody" today also knows that the robber barons built their fortunes on defrauding and robbing people; that all except the rich were illiterate before public education was introduced; and that the earth is in imminent danger of being destroyed by global warming and ozone depletion. I've learned to be very wary of things that "everybody knows", and I see no reason to be less wary when Ayn Rand is the subject. The evidence needs to be examined carefully before any such statements are believed.
When reading books such as Nathaniel Branden's Judgment Day and Barbara Branden's The Passion of Ayn Rand, or listening to talks such as Kay Nolte Smith's "Romanticism, Rand and Reservations", you will find a lot of generalized accusations about Rand's intolerance towards different artistic tastes, but very few specifics. When specifics are occasionally mentioned, they usually consist of remarks attributed to Rand which either express her personal dislike for some work, or express some specific criticism of some work - always a work which the accuser admires; the implication is that Rand's failure to enjoy this work, or the fact that she made any criticisms of it, is sufficient reason to condemn her. It is clear that these authors are angry at Rand for not sharing their artistic tastes; they are the ones who are demonstrating intolerance of Rand's artistic tastes, and their claims about Rand's intolerance seem like a clear case of projection.
Anne Heller, in Ayn Rand and the World She Made, applies to this question the same sloppy research standards and the same lack of critical thinking that she applies to all other controversial issues regarding Rand. She simply repeats the generalizations about Rand's intolerance of different artistic tastes, with seeing any need to examine or relate any specific incidents or any evidence to back up the claim.
Barbara Branden's The Passion of Ayn Rand is the only source I have seen which does relate a couple of specific incidents which, if true, would indicate that Rand could, on isolated occasions, show mild intolerance towards certain artistic tastes. However, these incidents involve very private scenes, which are impossible to verify; there is good reason to wonder if Branden's retelling is a distortion of the events.
So, what actual evidence can we find to indicate whether these accusations against Rand have any basis in fact? One possibility is to ask people who have first-hand knowledge on the matter. For that, we need to find people who have known Ayn Rand personally at least to some degree; who are still alive; and who can be trusted to be objective about Rand and to answer such questions honestly (i.e. they must be neither ex-Ayn-Rand-associates with a grudge, nor followers with an attitude of deification, such as Leonard Peikoff and many of his supporters, who might be suspected of regarding Rand's perfection as more important than the truth). This narrows the field considerably. I personally am aware of only three suitable people; two prominent Objectivist figures (George Walsh and Allan Gotthelf) and one less well-known friend of Rand from her later years (Molly Hays). I have asked all three in person whether they've had any first-hand experiences of Rand berating or condemning someone because of their artistic tastes; all replied that they hadn't.
What other evidence is there? The most important is Rand's writings on art, in The Romantic Manifesto. Rand explained the difference between personal taste and objective evaluation of art far more clearly than any other writer on art, and The Romantic Manifesto has helped thousands of readers to understand and develop their personal reactions to art. Stories about Rand being unable to differentiate between her personal tastes and objective evaluation, and being intolerant of different artistic tastes, are too glaringly inconsistent with her writings; if they are to be believed, very strong evidence would be needed to support them, and that's precisely what has never been presented.
Other available, pertinent evidence:
1. Several specific incidents related by Leonard Peikoff, in his lecture course "Understanding Objectivism", which show Rand demonstrating complete tolerance towards Peikoff's artistic tastes when they were different from her own. Such incidents clearly deserve at least as much credence, and as much weight as evidence on this issue, as any incidents related by the Brandens; and yet they are completely, conveniently ignored by the people repeating the accusations of intolerance against Rand.
2. One of the most common stories, about Rand's intolerance in the area of art, is regarding her alleged dislike of Mozart, whom she is reported to have dismissed as "pre-music". A crucial piece of evidence, specifically regarding Rand's view of Mozart, is Allan Blumenthal's taped course on music, which was given under Ayn Rand's auspices. In that course, Blumenthal devotes an entire lecture to Mozart, praising his music profusely and naming him as one of his own personal favorites. Clearly, if the stories about Rand dismissing Mozart as "pre-music" had any element of truth, other than as a totally out-of-context quote, she would never have allowed this.
In sum, while we may not have enough evidence on the subject to ever know the answer with certainty, the evidence is enough to support one interpretation as very probable: that the whole story, about Rand having berated or condemned people for their artistic tastes, is a distortion of events by a few of her ex-associates who were angry at Rand for not sharing their artistic tastes. Unfortunately, their distortions have been too easily accepted as a certainty by too many Objectivists.