I recently discovered the artwork of George Quaintance (1902 - 1957), another hugely influential figure in early- to mid-twentieth century gay art. He was a good few years ahead of Tom of Finland (1920 - 1991; see my initial post on Tom of Finland here; sadly, I have never posted anything more on Tom, something I should put to rights!), and I suppose we could easily detect some influence of the older man on the younger. But while George was predominantly interested in the Cowboy as a sexual gay icon, for Tom it was the Leatherman who was to be found in so many of his drawings, although cowboys and sailors were also often encountered. George was extremely handsome, as can be seen in the first three pics below, the third of which is a self-portrait of the man painting a model, depicted on the canvas. The finished artwork follows the self-portrait. He was a women's hair stylist by profession and was extremely popular amongst the rich and famous of the 1930s. He died tragically young at the age of 55 of a heart attack, but his work lives on.
