  We use optical and near-IR imaging to examine the properties of the
significant excess population of K>=19 galaxies found in the fields of 31 z=1-2
radio-loud quasars by Hall, Green & Cohen (1998). The excess occurs on two
spatial scales: a component at <40'' from the quasars significant compared to
the galaxy surface density at >40'' in the same fields, and a component roughly
uniform to ~100'' significant compared to the galaxy surface density seen in
random-field surveys in the literature. The r-K color distributions of the
excess galaxy populations are indistinguishable and are significantly redder
than the color distribution of the field population.
  The excess galaxies are consistent with being predominantly early-type
galaxies at the quasar redshifts, and there is no evidence that they are
associated with intervening MgII absorption systems. The average excess within
0.5 Mpc (~65'') of the quasars corresponds to Abell richness class ~0 compared
to the galaxy surface density at >0.5 Mpc from the quasars, and to Abell
richness class ~1.5 compared to that from the literature.
  We discuss the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies in fields
with data in several passbands. Most candidate quasar-associated galaxies are
consistent with being 2-3 Gyr old early-types at the quasar redshifts of z~1.5.
However, some objects have SEDs consistent with being 4-5 Gyr old at z~1.5, and
a number of others are consistent with ~2 Gyr old but dust-reddened galaxies at
the quasar redshifts. These potentially different galaxy types suggest there
may be considerable dispersion in the properties of early-type cluster galaxies
at z~1.5. There is also a population of galaxies whose SEDs are best modelled
by background galaxies at z>2.5.
