diff --git a/beets/util/artresizer.py b/beets/util/artresizer.py
index 8f14c8baf..c57918f16 100644
--- a/beets/util/artresizer.py
+++ b/beets/util/artresizer.py
@@ -77,6 +77,11 @@ def pil_resize(maxwidth, path_in, path_out=None, quality=0):
         im = Image.open(util.syspath(path_in))
         size = maxwidth, maxwidth
         im.thumbnail(size, Image.ANTIALIAS)
+
+        if quality == 0:
+            # Use PIL's default quality.
+            quality = -1
+
         im.save(util.py3_path(path_out), quality=quality)
         return path_out
     except IOError:
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index e65e6b1e9..a530cbac1 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -266,6 +266,8 @@ Fixes:
   the current track in the queue.
   Thanks to :user:`aereaux`.
   :bug:`3722`
+* Fix a bug causing PIL to generate poor quality JPEGs when resizing artwork.
+  :bug:`3743`
 
 For plugin developers: