Writing for Scotsman.com, Brian Monteith draws a comparison between Scottish artist Jack Vettriano and Howard Roark:
THANK goodness for Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. If he didn?t exist we would have to invent him.
There?s an excellent novel written in the 1940s by Ayn Rand called The Fountainhead, which was later made into a film with Gary Cooper in the lead role as the hero, Howard Roark.
The story is simple enough; Howard Roark is an architect who values his work for its own sake, famously saying: “I don?t build in order to have clients; I have clients in order to build.”
The buildings are his creation; he has designed them, toiled over them and brought them into the world. He cannot be corrupted or seduced by the collectivist establishment, which is made up by politicians and officials of the state and by art critics in the press. Ultimately, he demolishes one of his own buildings rather than let it be corrupted by his critics.
Jack Vettriano is a Howard Roark of our times. He paints because he enjoys it; it brings him clients. He is popular because it just so happens that he is in tune with our contemporary longing for nostalgia. He too has toiled over his work, having been self-taught and living from hand to mouth until he became financially successful. Now he enjoys the sweet taste of success.
See the original article for further information about this artist and the establishment that opposes him. You can also see some larger Vettriano prints at bertc.com.