The story behind “Big Eyes”, the film about the artist who struggled to be recognized as the author of her own art

Can you imagine dedicating years of your life to improving yourself to create something unique and see all your work credited to someone else? This is what happened to the artist Margaret Keane, who had to fight a legal battle against her own ex-husband, who claimed authorship of her works and even made millions from their sale, in order to be recognized for her creations. Her story was told in the 2014 film Big Eyes and introduced audiences to the truth about one of the biggest frauds in the art world.

We, from incredible.club, we were also moved by the film and decided to bring you the true story of an artist’s struggle in the 1950s, which inspired the plot of the work. Check out!

Born in 1927 in Tennessee, United States, Peggy Doris Hawkins (or Margaret Doris Hawkins, as some sources claim), would later become the painter Margaret Keaner. The artist, who began to pay more attention to the eyes of the people she was talking to in order to understand them better after injuring her ear at the age of 2, entered the world of art at 10. At 18, she went to study at the Traphagen School of Design , in New York, where he stayed for 1 year. Shortly thereafter, in the 1950s, she got a job painting baby clothes and cribs.

At the beginning of her career, she liked to experiment with creations in a style known as kitsch, which is characterized by works that have a popular appearance and are sometimes called “cheesy”. She used from acrylic to oil paints. At the same time, Margaret had already divorced her first husband and moved to the city of San Francisco, California.

She even revealed that some of the biggest inspirations for her works were artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and, especially, the way Amedeo Modigliani painted women. Her paintings always showed children, and even animals, with huge eyes and a sad expression, which soon stood out from other popular works of the time and delighted collectors and art aficionados.

Shortly after moving to San Francisco with her daughter, she met Walter Keane, who became her second husband in 1955. Thanks to her, Walter changed his line of work from real estate to the art field. Their marriage, in turn, was not so harmonious and went through a series of complications. He was known to be very jealous, and Margaret often had to produce canvases even if she didn’t feel like it. Walter, however, made sure that production was not affected, and while working outside, Margaret painted continuously. At the time, she also didn’t receive any credit for all her efforts.

Her paintings were initially sold at a club in the city where she lived called The Hungry i, with the works being signed simply as “Keane”. Walter was known to be a great salesman and invested heavily in promoting the arts. This made the paintings gain great notoriety in the artistic circle and were sold for millions of dollars. That was back in the 60’s.

The works became so famous that they became known as “Keane Eyes” (Eyes of Keane) or “Big Eyed Waifs”, which can be translated (in free translation) as “Crianças Desamparadas de Olhos Grandes”, in Portuguese. To people, Walter would say that his inspiration was orphaned children that he would have met in his travels. In a short time, Margaret’s works began to be used in the design of objects and other products on an industrial scale, with many negative reviews from experts, but adored by the public, who fell in love with the unique and moving look of the paintings. What Margaret didn’t know, but which would come to light later, was that her husband was claiming credit for her creations, which led to a legal battle and several years of struggle to gain the deserved recognition.

As mentioned, for some time, Margaret was unaware that she was not taking credit for her own art. The discovery was made after she paid a visit to the club where they were sold. Walter’s excuse was that customers wouldn’t buy paintings by a divorced woman. Their marriage ended after 10 years of relationship. Years later she moved to Hawaii and remarried.

Walter’s lie was debunked by her in an interview made on a radio program in the 70’s. In the 80’s, Walter made a statement stating that his ex-wife was lying and was sued by her for defamation. Margaret said in an interview that what helped her speak the truth to the public was the support given by her third husband, Dan McGuire.

The trial took place in 1986 and, on the occasion, the judge asked both parties to paint a picture in front of all those present. The intention was to determine the true authorship of the works. Walter, however, said he had a sore shoulder and refused, while Margaret accepted the challenge. In less than 1 hour, she presented all the people who were following the case with a chart that proved everything she had said on that radio program more than 10 years earlier.

Margaret won the suit and the right to compensation in the amount of 4 million dollars. However, she was unable to receive any of that money, which was built on top of her own creations during a farce that lasted for years, because the entire fortune had already been spent. Walter, for his part, continued to claim that he was the true author of the works until his death in the 2000s.

In 2014, director Tim Burton released the film Big Eyes, which told the story of Margaret’s life, fight for recognition and overcoming the world. The cast included actress Amy Adams, in the role of the painter, and Christoph Waltz, playing Walter Keane. In all, the production of the work recreated almost 200 of Margaret’s paintings and brought more attention to the artist’s work, which saw the public’s interest in them renewed. The film received two BAFTA Award nominations, one Critics Choice Award for best music, and Amy Adams also won the Capri Actress Awards and a Golden Globe for her performance in the feature. When asked about the film, Margaret stated that the work was very accurate with reality and that she thought it was wonderful.

The film Big Eyes helped Margaret Keane receive the recognition she deserved for works of art that marked an era and gained enormous prominence today. The work, however, like any other film production, has some differences from what actually happened. One was that, in the film, it is said that Walter never tried to paint the pictures sold. In real life, he even did this, but to no avail.

Another change made to theaters was that, in the film, no one visited the couple’s mansion. In fact, Walter used to receive many people from the local high society and even celebrities in his home. None of them, however, could enter the studio where Margaret painted for some 16 hours a day. Soon, she almost never found them. The cinematic work also showed Walter attacking a New York Times art critic for badmouthing the paintings. However, there is no record that this ever happened.

Currently, Margaret lives in Napa, California, and continues to create enchanting and highly successful works. Her works, which gained even more prominence after the premiere of the feature film telling her life story, are sold at Keane Eyes Gallery, which was founded in 1992, in San Francisco. After winning the legal battle for recognition, it was possible to see paintings of her getting happier, with children being portrayed smiling in some of them.

So, did you already know the story of Margaret Keane? Do you know any other exciting stories of struggle and overcoming? Share with us in the comments!