Nudes By The Numbers

Over at eBay, three nude paint by number paintings, each measures 12" by 16".








Addressing the issue of nude paint by numbers is William L. Bird, Jr., author of Paint By Number: The How-To Craze that Swept the Nation and curator at the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian), where in 2001 he organized an exhibition on paint by numbers:

Were nudes a requested subject? Was there a subgenre of paint by number pornography?

Well, porn is in the eye of the beholder. Still life nude scenes were quite popular designs. They were advertised in the catalogue by a blank frame and a number.

(From an interview published at cabinetmagazine.org in 2004.)

For more on collecting paint by numbers, see Rec-Room Rembrandts: Smithsonian Revisits the Artistry and Kitsch of Paint-by-Number, The "Art" of Paint By Number Paintings, and www.paintbynumberz.com.