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When Quaintance lived in New York City, photographer Lon Hanagan (aka Lon of New York) introduced him to Joe Weider. Joe and his brother Ben were working-class Jews from Montreal who built a male fitness publishing empire based on the concept that anyone could have a fit and muscular body.
From Sept. 1946 to May 1948, George was the Art Editor of Your Physique and its Canadian cousin, Muscle Power, which had a Hollywood office. During that time, he created 11 cover portraits of celebrity bodybuilders and he wrote numerous articles on health, fitness, grooming and other topics.
Announcing George’s hiring in an editorial, Joe Weider wrote, “[T]he full-time services of George Quaintance, noted American artist, have been secured. Mr. Quaintance is responsible for the unexcelled covers, for the artistic layouts and for the superb organization of all materials, which you will find in this issue and all forthcoming issues of ‘Your Physique’.”
Reproductions of some of those covers hung in the halls at Weider’s fortress-like headquarters in Woodland Hills, California, when I visited. But what became of the original canvases?
The Nov. 1947 cover — Quaintance’s last for Your Physique — portrayed Joe himself … sort of a fond farewell. That painting played a critical (and amusing) role in my research for the Quaintance bio. I had made several requests, by phone and in writing, to interview Joe Weider. All went unacknowledged. Then I penned a new request, creating a special mailing envelope with a cachet featuring George’s painting of Joe. I got a personal phone invitation to visit Weider, almost immediately.
That visit produced little new information. One burning question was, “Where are the GQ paintings that became covers for Your Physique?” Some were painted from life and some from photographs, but all were life-sized canvases. Eric Pedersen’s portrait can be seen hanging behind Ben Weider in this clip from “Life & Times,” a 1999 documentary about the Weider empire. The film is available free on YouTube.
When I asked about the canvases, and why none were displayed in the museum-like corporate HQ, Joe told me his brother Ben made those decisions and the paintings were probably in storage in Montreal. He said he would call Ben and ask, then let me know. That never happened, and the status of those canvases remains unknown.
As for that 41,000-square-foot fortress in Woodland Hills, after being vacant for five years, it sold in 2020 for $13 million.
Here’s a chronological list of the Quaintance covers.
Alan Stephan, Mr. America, Oct. 1946
Dan Lurie, America’s Most Muscular Man, Jan. 1947
Victor Nicoletti, Mr. New York City, March 1947
Everett Sinderoff, Jr. Mr. America, April 1947
A. Ferrero, NABBA Mr. Universe Professional, May 1947
John Farbotnik, Mr. Chicago, June 1947
Eugene Dubuque, Mr. New York City, July 1947
Eric Pedersen, Mr. California, Aug. 1947
Steve Reeves, Mr. America, Sept. 1947
Clarence Ross, Mr. USA, Oct. 1947
Joseph E. Weider, Publisher and Editor, Nov. 1947
Your Physique evolved into Young Physique, then into Muscle Builder. In 1980 it was retitled Muscle & Fitness. In 2014, Weider protégé Arnold Schwartzenegger was named executive editor. The magazine is still published online today.