Looking back at influences on the way gay men have expressed themselves artistically in the latter half of the last century, especially before Stonewall, the figure of George Quaintance stands out for a number of complex reasons. This pioneer in the world of gay male physique artistry adapted himself to the various developments occurring in physique/muscle magazines as many of them become more overtly homoerotic, especially after World War II. Quaintance always identified as gay, even in the closeted social environment of the 1930s and 40s; yet his public persona, reflected in his diverse contributions to the physique publications, both adapted to the prevailing bodybuilding culture and changed the image of the male body during a time when such images were taking on a more erotically charged ambiance.

One of Quaintance's earlier public illustrations appears in the January 1947 issue of Your Physique magazine, Joe Weider's bodybuilding publication. Weider oversaw a bodybuilding empire; himself a bodybuilder, he produced a wide array of physical culture products ranging from barbells to protein supplements. His magazines devoted much space to advertising these products as well as the usual how-to health features and coverage of contests. Weider had already hired the homosexual Lon Hanagan as a staff photographer (the October/November 1944 issue features many photos by Lon), perhaps looking to emphasize more fully the artistic quality in the magazine's photographs of nearly nude muscle men parading in skimpy posing straps and posing with poles. Quaintance had studied photography with Lon; some form of connection with Weider then occurred, and by 1947 Quaintance had become the art editor for Weider's magazine.

Before Quaintance's intimate connection with the Weider physical culture empire, he studied and worked at a variety of "artsy" activities ranging from painting and drawing to dance tostyling the hair of Hollywood movie stars like Gloria Swanson to photography, typical pursuits for the closeted homosexual of the period. By 1938, Quaintance had set up housekeeping with his lover, Victor Garcia, who was the subject of many of his photographs. One of Quaintance's art pieces appears on the front cover of a 1945 monograph published by Joe Bonomo entitled Power-Plus. Bonomo was a straight physical culture/self-help guru with a penchant for the flashy (he worked a stuntsman in Hollywood). How Bonomo met Quaintance is unclear (perhaps a Hollywood connection?), but Quaintance is billed as the "art director for Bonomo Cultural Institute Publications." Even more interestingly, Bonomo (perhaps Quaintance had a hand in its ideation, given his background as a hairstylist), certainly seemed to know much about women's dress and social interactions with both other women and men, as he published books in the Bonomo Library of Beauty and Charm with titles like Beautify Your Bust Contour, Become a More Popular Hostess, and How to Wear Your Hair.