Margaret Keane

MARGARET KEANE (Nashville, Tennessee, 1927- Napa, California).
"Girl and her cat".
Lithograph, copy 23/500.
Signed and dated on plate.
Enclosed certificate of authenticity Keane International Art Galleries.
Measurements: 37,5 x 33 cm.

Margaret Keane's works are distinguished by the big eyes of her characters. In different stages she signed her works as Peggy Doris Hawkins, Peggy Ulbrich, MDH Keane and Margaret McGuire. Together with her husband she appeared in Life magazine and painted portraits of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kim Novak, Adlai Stevenson, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Joan Crawford, Liberace, Don Defore, Merv Griffen, Dean Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, Lisa Marie and Linda Cardellini. He sent portraits to the White House of John Jr. and Caroline Kennedy, as well as Jerry Lewis' family dressed as harlequins. During this time Walter Keane (her husband) proclaimed himself the painter of the paintings, while the real author, Margaret, was locked away painting for long periods, something that was influencing her paintings. After some time watching Walter take the credit, Margaret decided to refine her style to a new result, thus differentiating the work signed "Keane" from this new one, signed "MDH Keane". In 1986 she sued Walter Keane and the newspaper USA Today for an article in which they claimed that the pictorial works were the exclusive creation of Walter Keane. At trial, the jury asked the two to paint a picture in their signature style. Margaret Keane painted a picture in 53 minutes. Walter Keane painted nothing due to alleged shoulder pain. The jury found in Margaret's favor and allowed her to sign her works as Keane. It also ordered Walter Keane to pay $4 million for emotional damages and damage to his reputation. Currently his work is kept in Bruges (Musee Communal Des Beaux-Arts), Hawaii (Contemporary Museum of Art), Jaén. Museo de Jaén, on deposit from the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Mexico City (Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno), Tennessee (Brooks Memorial Museum & Tennessee Fine Art Museum), Tokyo (National Museum Of Western Art), Triton, San Jose, California (Triton Museum of San Jose, California) and Laguna Beach (California. Laguna Art Museum) among others.