| George Quaintance | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 3, 1902 Page County, Virginia, USA |
| Died | November 8, 1957 (aged 55) |
| Occupation | Artist, dancer, designer of stage sets, interiors and New York department store windows; make-up artist, hairstylist, and portrait artist.[1] |
| Spouse | Miriam Chester (1929) |
| Parents | Ella Belle (mother) George Quaintance (father) Nannie (older sister) |
George Quaintance (June 3, 1902 – November 8, 1957) was an American artist famous for his "idealized, strongly homoerotic"[2] depictions of men in physique magazines.[1] His first art assignments were anonymous advertising work, but by 1934 he had begun to sell freelance cover illustrations to a variety of "spicy" pulp magazines, such as Gay French Life, Ginger, Movie Humor, Movie Merry Go-Round, Snappy Detective Mysteries, Snappy Stories, Stolen Sweets, and Tempting Tales. These were sold at burlesque halls as well as under-the-counter at discreet newsstands. These illustrations, which were clearly influenced by Enoch Bolles, were often signed "Geo. Quintana." Several of his artworks depicted men of Mexican and Indian ethnicities, which has been described as part of the "closeting" of "physique art", as it pretended physique art had anthropological or academic motives. His artworks also depicted idealized Wild West settings.[3] His artwork has been said to establish the "macho stud" stereotype who was also homosexual.[4] Quaintance was born in Page County, Virginia,[1] and grew up on a farm, displaying an aptitude for art.[4] Even as a teen, Quaintance has been described as "obviously and actively homosexual", despite being closeted. At the age of 18 he studied at the Art Students League, where, as well as painting and drawing, he studied dance, which led to him meeting and briefly marrying Miriam Chester.[1] In the 1930s, he became a hairstylist.[5] In 1938, he returned home with his companion Victor Garcia, described as Quaintance's "model, life partner, and business associate", who was the subject of many of Quaintance's photographs in the 1940s.[1] In 1951, Quaintance's art was used for the first cover of Physique Pictorial, edited by Bob Mizer of the Athletic Model Guild.[6] In the early 1950s, Quaintance and Garcia moved to Rancho Siesta,[7] which became the home of Studio Quaintance, a business venture based around Quaintance's artworks.[8] In 1953, Quaintance completed a series of three paintings about a matador, modeled by Angel Avila, another of his lovers. By 1956, the business had become so successful that Quaintance could not keep up with the demand for his works.[9] George Quaintance died of a heart attack on November 8, 1957.[6][9]
George Quaintance influenced Tom of Finland.[7]