Examples abound of paintings, photographs, or sculptures whose owners claimed they were from the Quaintance Studio, but they were not. Here's an odd variation on that: two sculptures that do not claim to be from the Quaintance Studio, but whose owner(s) might hope you think otherwise.
In September, this pair of figurines was offered at online auction as a single lot. Potential buyers familiar with the sculptures of George Quaintance may have thought they were looking at examples of Narcissus and Siesta. Yet the listing stated "Artist Unknown" and it did not name the individual pieces.
The auction house, Live Auctioneers, has handled enough works by Quaintance that it's unlikely they would overlook having two Quaintance pieces in their auction. Why, then, not identify the artist or the pieces?
Unless Quaintance was not the artist.
A careful examination of the images posted on the auction website could lead one to suspect — as did the writer who brought these to my attention — that they were clumsily executed forgeries, or to be more charitable, "homages" to Quaintance. The details of the sculptures are not sharp, and if you have examples, or photos, of Narcissus and Siesta for comparison, there are numerous discrepancies to note.
The lot description is brief. It refers to a repaired break below the left leg of Narcissus, but makes no mention of the substantial crack in the right shoulder of Siesta. The description in its entirety reads as follows:
[ART]. [Artist Unknown]. Pair of Small Plaster Statuettes. [N.p., n.d., ca. late 20th century]. Plaster statues of handsome men, one completely nude, the other just wearing pants. Sizes range from 9" high to 7 1/2" high. Some wear, soiling scuffing, statuette of nude man with a repaired break at the base near the figure's extended leg.
The estimate was $200-$400. Bidding opened at $100 and the winning bidder paid $550, not including tax, buyer premium or shipping. Maybe the buyer thought (s)he'd found a great bargain.