Margaret Keane

For the American chief executive, see Margaret M. Keane.

Margaret Keane
Keane at her art studio
Born
Peggy Doris Hawkins

(1927-09-15)September 15, 1927
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJune 26, 2022(2022-06-26) (aged 94)
Napa, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Peggy Ulbrich
  • MDH Keane
  • Margaret McGuire
OccupationArtist
Spouses
  • Frank Richard Ulbrich
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1948; div. 1955)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1955; div. 1965)​
  • Daniel Francis McGuire
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1970; died 1983)​
Children1
Websitewww.keane-eyes.com

Margaret D. H. Keane (born Peggy Doris Hawkins, September 15, 1927 – June 26, 2022)[1] was an American artist known for her paintings of subjects with big eyes. She mainly painted women, children, or animals in oil or mixed media. The work achieved commercial success through inexpensive reproductions on prints, plates, and cups. It has been critically acclaimed but also criticized as formulaic and cliché. The artwork was originally attributed to Keane's then-husband, Walter Keane. Soon after their divorce in the 1960s, Margaret claimed credit, which was established after a court "paint-off" in Hawaii.[2]

A resurgence of interest in Margaret Keane's work followed the release of Tim Burton's 2014 biopic Big Eyes. She maintained a gallery in San Francisco which boasts "the largest collection of Margaret Keane's art in the entire world."[3] In light of the great gulf between her work's popularity and its critical lampooning, she was sometimes referred to as the "Wayne Newton of the art world."[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Dubin, Zan (July 2, 2000). "The Eyes of Margaret Keane". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "About Keane Eyes Gallery". Keane Eyes Gallery. n.d. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Bishop, Katherine (February 27, 1992). "For Waifs of Art, The Last Laugh". New York Times. p. C1, at C10. ProQuest 109039357.