George Quaintance lived and worked during an era when homosexuality was repressed, when his joyful paintings and physique photos could not depict a penis. In an era before Stonewall, the sexual revolution, gay rights and the AIDS crisis, Quaintance and his high-camp erotic art existed in a demi-monde of borderline legality. Currently, Taschen Gallery is presenting The Flamboyant Life & Forbidden Art of George Quaintance, the first public show of works by this culturally significant artist. Seventy years since the creation of his first physique painting, discover Quaintance's masculine fantasy world, populated by Greek gods, Latin lovers, lusty cowboys and chiseled ranch hands. Accompanying pieces from photographer and gay magazine pioneer Bob Mizer, as well as from the legendary Tom of Finland, show Quaintance’s leading influence on the gay publishing and art scene. The exhibition will be on view until August 31, 2015 at Taschen Gallery, 8070 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA
