MARGARET KEANE SELF PORTRAIT MOVIE

The film opens with the statement that the 50s was a great time if you were a man.įleeing a bad marriage in the mid-1950s, shy suburban housewife Margaret Hawkins flees to San Francisco with her young daughter, where she makes her living painting motives on furniture. It is based on the true story of how Margaret’s husband Walter Keane created an elaborate deception, fooling the world by claiming credit for his wife’s art.

MARGARET KEANE SELF PORTRAIT MOVIE

Produced and directed by Tim Burton, the movie Big Eyes stars Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. Unfortunately, Margaret never received the money that she earned from sales of her paintings, nor received the recognition that she deserved until recent times. Margaret’s waifs influenced the style of other painters and graphic artists. It sold millions of copies, when reproduced in affordable forms such as wall sized posters and cards, which you could buy in supermarkets and gift shops.

Through mass marketing, Margaret’s work became was incredibly popular with the general public.

However, did you know that the works by American artist Margaret Keane, though derided by art critics and dealers, hung in the mansions of major Hollywood stars and in European museums? Or that her paintings were praised by artists such as Dali, Picasso and Warhol?

You might remember seeing faded prints of sad, haunting, waif-like children with overly large eyes, displayed in charity shops or in houses during the 1960s and 1970s.

Margaret keane self portrait