In 2023, several Quaintance lithographs and an early oil painting appeared at auction.
The oil painting was offered in August: a signed canvas of a voluptuous, provocatively posed female nude, titled Summer's Day. The painting measures 24 by 24 inches and, according to the listing, is inscribed on the stretcher.
The January 1939 issue of the Chicago-based Picture and Gift Journal contained an article about Quaintance that claimed, "George Quaintance is the originator of the 'glamour nudes,' who have all it takes to knock 'em dead from San Diego to Bangor, from Miami to Seattle."
Today, Quaintance fans might wonder what he was talking about. The nudes for which Quaintance is remembered are male nudes, and if there was a body of work of female glamour nudes renowned from coast to coast in 1939, it is now largely forgotten.
Summer's Day sold at auction previously, in 2007, for $4,000. That listing gave the painting's date as 1940. The 2023 auction did not mention a date. The painting sold for $3,000, far below the pre-auction estimate of $4,000 to $6,000.
Then came the lithographs, many of which are becoming increasingly hard-to-find. Nine Quaintance paintings were reproduced as full-color lithographs during his lifetime. At one time, the entire suite could be purchased from the studio for $25!
An October auction offered a copy of the Siesta lithograph and, separately, a set of four beautifully framed lithographs of Rodeo Victor, Bacchant, Baths of Ancient Rome and Spartan Soldiers Bathing.
Siesta sold for $425 against a pre-auction estimate of $300-$500. Along with Preludio, it is the largest of the Quaintance Studio lithographs, measuring 17.5 by 22.5 inches. But it is not especially scarce. Copies pop up regularly on eBay and at auction. On Aug. 22, 2024 (may be past tense when you read this), examples of both Siesta and Preludio will be auctioned by the Swann Galleries. For this go-around, the pre-auction estimate is $1000-$1500 each.
The other four above-mentioned lithographs are much scarcer. Print size is 11 by 14 inches for Rodeo Victor and Bacchant, or 14 by 11 inches for Baths of Ancient Rome and Spartan Soldiers Bathing. They could once be purchased as a set for $9. At this auction, they sold as a single lot for $1,000, dwarfing the pre-auction estimate of $200-$300.
I will be writing more about Quaintance's lithographs in a future entry, and will also report on the 8.22.2024 auction results at that time.
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