Upon beginning research for the Quaintance bio, I created a database to record the date, dimensions, models and current location/ownership of every painting of the male physique period that I could document.
Fast-forward 19 years and many remain unaccounted for. I expected that a letter discovered in 2003, in a scrapbook at the Tom of Finland Foundation, would lead me to two canvases. The writer spoke of finding "a pair in their original frames" at an antique store. He thought they had "a wonderful fifties naïve quality to them," although he did not know when he bought them who George Quaintance was. The letter was written in 1995. It gave no clue as to which paintings he found.
Despite eight years having passed, I wrote to the fellow — snail mail — and never got a reply. Until 14 years later. Snail mail, indeed! He wrote:
I didn't actually know who George was when I bought the paintings and research had to be done the old-fashioned way. Two sources that helped was the Society of Illustrators and Roger Reed at the Illustration Gallery as far as having a minimal amount of biographical information. Though I didn't know George, I did recognize his style from something in the past, I think it was from the fitness magazines. The shop owner was an older gay gentleman and he had them in a closet. He pulled them out. The shop owner had a huge crush on me and so he was kind enough to allow me to pay for the paintings over time.
The paintings turned out to be Coral Reef and Sunlit Depths.
He went on to say, "The paintings are big. These are approximately 3x4, still in their original frames. I've owned them now for over twenty years (ed. note: this was in 2017). I should make some digital photos, as I'm sure I mentioned in the actual paintings there are no accidental waves covering their anatomy, as pictured frequently in books. The men are full nudes sans water foam. One swimmer is cut, the other not."
The frontal nudity is remarkable. Due to obscenity laws at the time, Quaintance took great care to conceal the genitals of every male he painted. Only in his sculptures — Ocean Wave, Narcissus, and two of Neptune's Children — did he ever show a penis.
Earlier this year, I persuaded the owner to send me photos of the pair. The image quality is mediocre, one hand is cut off and there's no visible signature on either canvas. Yet there they are. Mirabile visu! According to the Quaintance Studio, the models were Jim Glasper (buns), Edwardo and Bill Bredlau.
It appears that the canvases are not dated. Their present owner concurs, "The sig is on the front. No date as I recall. They are actually crated."
The Rev. Bob Wood, a former lover and long-time correspondent of Quaintance (and about whom I have written elsewhere), dated them at 1956. Wood also said the duo was a private commission that later disappeared. Perhaps the fact that the canvases were destined to go directly from easel to buyer allowed George to make an exception about showing the genitals.
One hopes that time will reveal more of this story; the owner is incommunicado once more. A copy of the black-and-white photo versions of the paintings that were sold by the Quaintance Studio is included for comparison. Coral Reef is the photo on the right.
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