![]() Walter Keane didn't bother to show up, though he continued to take credit for the artwork. She showed up with her easel and quickly produced a classic big-eye child. Though the paintings sold for as little as $40 at the time, they now often go for thousands.Īfter a drawn-out and acrimonious divorce, Keane confided in a reporter in 1970 that her ex-husband had painted none of the wide-eye waifs and offered to prove it in a public demonstration in San Francisco's Union Square. ![]() Requests for personalized big-eye paintings rolled in from the celebrity world as well and portraits were done from photos of Natalie Wood, Caroline Kennedy, Liberace, Kim Novak and many more. and dutifully signed each painting with a simple "Keane." If anyone bothered to ask, he described his wife as a struggling amateur. A former real estate agent with a big personality and a gift for showmanship, he appeared on television shows, made the rounds at galleries from New York to L.A. Though received more as curiosities than serious contemporary art, there was something arresting about the images of the children, their eyes filled less with wonderment than panic, if not outright fear, that resonated with viewers.Īs the paintings sold - eventually by the millions - Keane's husband Walter stepped forward and took credit for the art. Her first big-eye paintings emerged in the late 1950s in San Francisco's North Beach, then a lively bohemian haven. ![]() Keane was born Margaret Doris Hawkins on Sept. ![]()
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