© All Media Company, region, ill.
© The Weinstein Company, reg., ill.
© AST Publishing House LLC
All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet and corporate networks, for private and public use, without the written permission of the copyright owner.
© Electronic version of the book prepared by Litres (www.litres.ru)
The story of a great scandal. The Greatest Scam in 20th Century Art
Foreword
The enchanting fame of the artist Walter Keane in the middle of the last century was amazing. His paintings were extremely popular all over the world. Reproductions of his works were sold in almost all stores and gas stations in America and Europe. Posters depicting paintings hung in student and worker dormitories. Postcards were sold in all kiosks. Walter made millions. And the reason for the success was clear: he painted charming kids with huge eyes - like saucers. Some critics called the "big-eyed" kitsch, others - masterpieces. Nevertheless, eminent collectors and museums of the world considered it an honor to acquire these canvases.
And how shocked the public was when they found out that the author of these paintings was the wife of Walter Keane. She worked for him as a guest worker in the basement or in a room with curtained windows and a closed door for many years. These beautiful big-eyed children were painted by Margaret Keane. Tired of humiliation, she sued her husband - she told the whole world who the real author of the works was. And she won, receiving $ 4 million for moral damages.
The incredible story did not leave indifferent the famous director and admirer of Keane's talent Tim Burton. In Hollywood, he made a film about the greatest scam in the art world of the 20th century. The picture comes out on Russian screens on January 15, 2015.
"Saccharin, kitsch, madness"
Incredibly huge eyes, like saucers, on the faces of small charming children. Somehow very sad. With tears in his eyes. With wet cats in your arms. Dressed in costumes of harlequins and ballerinas. Lonely sitting in the fields among the flowers. Innocent and lost. Thoughtful and strict.
Such touching paintings of sad children became extremely popular throughout the world in the 1950s and 1960s. Reproductions of paintings with sad children were then sold in almost all stores and gas stations in America and Europe. Posters were hung in student and worker dormitories, postcards were sold in every kiosk.
Art critics treated the sentimental "big-eyed" in different ways. Some called the paintings "delightful masterpieces." Others - "simplicity of images." The third - "art sensation". Fourth - "tasteless clumsy work."
The well-known American publicist, editor and founder of Feral House publishing house Adam Parfrey spoke about the paintings in general in three words (it's good that they are not obscene): "Sakharin, kitsch, madness."
And the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, called the paintings just "weepy folk art."
But the people were crazy about these big-eyed children! Then these works were exhibited in galleries in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, New Orleans... Today you can admire them in the most prestigious museums in the world: the National Museum of Modern Art in Madrid, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, the National Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bruges, the Museum of Fine Arts in Tennessee, the Hawaii State Capitol and even the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Faerie Glory!
Incredibly huge eyes like saucers on the faces of small adorable kids.
Somehow very sad.
"Delirium of a Crazy"
For 30 years, Walter Keane was considered the author of wonderful creations. Hollywood actress Jane Howard even made such an unexpected comparison in 1965: "If everyone compares the outstanding jazz musician and composer Howard Johnson to super-delicious ice cream, then Walter can be called the Big Eye of Art."
“Kin makes amazing portraits! - admired another admirer of Walter's talent - an American artist, magazine publisher and film director Andy Warhol. “If it wasn’t, then he wouldn’t have so many fans.”
Walter was praised in his time by the very famous American artists Thomas Kinkade, Dale Chihuly and Lisa Frank. And such stars of the time as American Hollywood actresses Joan Crawford, Natalie Wood and Kim Novak, as well as leading rock and roll artist Jerry Lewis, were even asked to paint their portraits in this then new striking style.
"Kin makes amazing portraits!"
Andy Warhole
Walter earned millions of dollars in year. Wife - not a penny.
But Walter was lying. As it turned out, his wife, the brilliant artist Margaret, as a guest worker, painted in a closed basement. Or in a room with curtained windows and a closed door. She voluntarily gave herself into slavery to support her husband's success. And Walter, having received the “product”, just put his signature at the bottom of the canvas. The wife covered her husband for a long time, praising him in articles and interviews. Walter himself called his success a "creative union of artists", one of whom simply mixed paints, referring to his wife. Any attempts by his wife to tell the truth, he called "nonsense of a madwoman." Walter was making millions of dollars a year. Wife - not a penny. All this time she was a hostage to her own talent and the tyranny of her husband.
Why is there sadness if God is good?
Margaret Keane was born in 1927 in Tennessee. Now she is 88 years old. For her age, she looks great. Here is what she says about herself in her short autobiography:
“I was a sickly child. I often felt miserable and lonely. At the same time, I was also very shy. Started painting early...
I grew up in the southern part of the United States in what is often referred to as the "Bible Belt" Perhaps this place influenced my faith. And my grandmother instilled in me a deep respect for the Bible, even though I was not well versed in religious matters.
I was a sickly child.
often felt feel unhappy, lonely.
I grew up believing in God, but because I was naturally inquisitive, I had many questions that remained unanswered.
I was tormented by questions about the meaning of life. Why are we here? Why are there pain, sorrow, and death if God is good? I had a lot of whys. These questions, it seems to me, were later reflected in the eyes of the children in my paintings.
The domestic tyrant forced her to paint pictures and be silent.
"I will kill your daughter if you reveal the secret"
Margaret married Walter Keane in 1955. Both had families prior to this meeting. By her own admission, eight of the ten years of her marriage to him were the most terrible in her life. The domestic tyrant forced her to paint pictures and be silent. He wanted fame and money.
In 1965, their marriage broke up. She left home in San Francisco. And settled in Hawaii. She married sports writer Dan McGuire in 1970 in Honolulu.
But at parting, Walter threatened Margaret: if she stopped drawing for him, he would kill both her and her daughter from her first marriage. The unfortunate woman vowed that she would continue to secretly write for him.
She confessed to her new husband with tears in her eyes: “You are the only one to whom I can tell my secret. I painted each of these paintings, each portrait with big eyes was created by me. But no one but you will know about it. And you should also keep quiet, because Walter is a terrible person.
But time will pass, and Margaret herself will want to get rid of her humiliating slavery. One day she said to herself: “Enough is enough! Enough of these lies. From now on, I will only speak the truth."
You are the only one I can tell my secret to.
Eyes say more about a person than he knows about himself
Her work during her marriage to Walter, when she lived in his shadow, tends to depict sad children and women. And most often - on a dark background. But after the divorce and moving to Hawaii, the pictures became more interesting, brighter and more joyful. This is noted by all admirers of her talent. In social networks, she now advertises her paintings as "Tears of Joy" and "Tears of Happiness."
“Questions about the meaning of being, it seems to me, were later reflected in the eyes of my children on canvases,” Margaret admitted in her autobiography. – Eyes for me are always something like a “coordinating center” of a person, because the soul is reflected and lives in them. I am sure that the spiritual essence of most people is concentrated in them, and they - the eyes - say more about a person than he knows about himself and what others think about him. You just have to look deep into them."
"You only need look in deep in them deep».
If Margaret were asked how inspiration came to her during the time when she lived with her tyrant husband, she would most likely shrug her shoulders and answer: “I don’t know.” Pictures just poured out of her.
“But now,” she says, “I know how all these extraordinary images were born. These sad children were, in fact, my own deep feelings that I could not express in any other way. It was in their eyes that I was looking for answers to my questions: why is there so much grief in the world? Why do we have to get sick and die? Why do people shoot each other? Why do relatives humiliate their relatives?
And quietly adds:
- And I would also like to know the answer, why did my husband do this to me? He behaved like a despot. Why did I have to suffer so much? Why am I in this chaos?
These sad children were actually mine own deep feelings.
“When I went to the bedroom, I found my husband with prostitutes there”
Margaret led a reclusive life. It was this existence that her husband Walter had created for her. And he himself lived a secular life - stormy and depraved.
“He was always surrounded by three or four girls,” Margaret recalls. They swam naked in the pool. The girls were drunk and arrogant. Seeing me, they threw insulting remarks. It happened that when I went to bed after a day of work at the easel, I found Walter there with three prostitutes.
There were also very eminent guests visiting the Keanes. For example, they were often visited by show business stars: the popular American rock band The Beach Boys, French chansonnier and actor Maurice Chevalier, musical movie star Howard Keel. But Margaret rarely saw them, because she was painting for 16 hours a day.
Later, journalists asked her:
Did the servants know what was going on?
“No, the door was always locked,” she answered grimly. - And the curtains are closed.
The newspapermen were shocked:
“Have you lived all these years with your curtains closed?”
“Yes,” Margaret recalls with a shudder. “Sometimes, when his girls came to him, he escorted me to the basement. And when he wasn't home, he used to call every hour to make sure I didn't run away. All these years I lived like in a prison.
“But did you know about his affairs? The fact that he sold your paintings for a lot of money? meticulous journalists asked.
“I didn't care what he did,” she shrugged.
All these years I lived like in a prison.
"He had a very colorful life."
Joan Keene
A newspaper chronicle testifies to the recklessness of Walter. So, in San Francisco, his rude antics were noted in newspaper articles and notes. For example, it was written about his skirmish with the owner of the yacht club Enrico Banducci. The case was taken to court. Keane was charged with hooliganism, but the lawyer won an acquittal.
Witnesses to the case said that Walter beat a woman in the hostel, threw a heavy phone book at Banducci, and then "crawled on the floor with a hat made of napkins."
“He had a very colorful life,” laughed his first wife, Joan Keane.
“He punched my only friend, a dog, in the stomach.”
During one of the interviews, Margaret was asked:
You must have been very lonely.
“Yes,” agreed Margaret, “because my husband did not allow me to have friends. If I tried to elude him, he immediately followed me. I had the only friend at home - a chihuahua dog, I loved her very much. This little dog meant so much to me. And Walter once took and kicked her in the stomach. And ordered to get rid of her. I had to give the dog to a shelter.
The husband was very jealous and domineering. He once seriously warned me: "If you ever tell the truth about yourself and about me, I will destroy you." And hit me in the face. He scared me a lot. I believed in his threats: he could do whatever he wanted. I knew that among the mafiosi he had many acquaintances. He tried to hit me again, but I said, “Where I come from, men don't hit women. If you raise your hand to me again, I will leave.” After that, he fell silent.
"If you ever tell the truth about yourself and me, I will destroy you."
Walter Keane
Walter demanded that Margaret do more and more paintings every year.
But Margaret regrets that she let him do everything else, which was even worse.
– For example, he would come home from parties and immediately demand that I show him what I drew during his absence. And I resignedly obeyed.
Walter demanded that Margaret do more and more paintings every year. He often dictated his subjects, which, in his opinion, could be commercially successful: "Do one portrait with a clown costume." Or: "Draw two children on a horse."
Prophetic dream of Walter's grandmother
- One day my husband had the idea that I would create a huge canvas, and he would hang this “his” masterpiece at the UN headquarters or in the White House. I didn't say exactly, and I didn't ask. But he gave me a hard time - one month. Then I worked all day long. Virtually no sleep.
The masterpiece was called "Tomorrow Forever". It depicts hundreds of children of all faiths with big sad eyes. They stand in a column that stretches to the horizon.
In 1964, the organizers of the World Exhibition (Expo (Expo) - an international exhibition that is a symbol of industrialization and an open platform for demonstrating technical and technological achievements. - Ed.) hung the canvas in their education pavilion. Walter felt at the pinnacle of success and was very proud of his "achievement".
Walter felt at the pinnacle of success and was very proud of his "achievement".
In his memoirs, he wrote that his already deceased grandmother told him about her extraordinary vision. It was as if Michelangelo himself appeared to her in a dream and said that he was a close friend of the Keene family, or even a distant relative, and put his name on one of "his" canvases. And leaving, Michelangelo said: "The masterpieces of your grandson tomorrow and forever will live in the hearts and minds of people, just like my work in the Sistine Chapel."
But maybe it was not a grandmother's dream, but Walter himself?
"Masterpieces of your grandson tomorrow and forever will live on in the hearts and minds of people just like my work in the Sistine Chapel."
Walter was not one of the melancholic people that he was. allegedly depicted on their canvases.
"Insolent and greedy type"
Walter Stanley Keane was born on October 7, 1915 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. He died on December 27, 2000 at the age of 85. He was 12 years older than Margaret.
Walter was very popular with TV reporters because of his eccentric behavior, manner of speaking about himself in the third person and not hiding his vanity and disdain for others. "Impudent and greedy type" - this is how journalists spoke about him.
Here is what The Guardian columnist Jon Ronson wrote about him: "Walter was not one of the melancholy people he supposedly portrayed in his canvases." According to his biographers, Adam Parfrey and Cletus Nelson, CEO of Feral House, he was a terrible drunk. More than anything, he loved himself and women. Didn't miss a single skirt. He lied a lot and without a twinge of conscience.
This is how Walter recalled his first meeting with Margaret in his 1983 memoir: “Margaret approached me at an open art exhibition in San Francisco in 1955. “I love your pictures,” she told me. “You are the greatest artist I have ever seen. And you are the most beautiful. It's a pity that the children in your pictures are so sad. It hurts me to look into their eyes. I would like to ask you for permission to touch your paintings with your hands in order to feel this childish sadness. But I categorically told her: “No, never touch my paintings.” I was then still an unknown artist. Yes, and many more years will pass after this meeting until they begin to receive me in the best houses of America and Europe.
Walter then describes the moment of their intimacy with Margaret. Tells a lot of intimate moments. And, according to him, the next morning after a stormy night, Margaret allegedly confessed to him: “You are the greatest lover in the world.” They soon got married.
Margaret, on the other hand, recalls their first meeting in a completely different way: “He dragged me into bed by force, and in the morning he said that I would be his fictitious wife and would work for him as much as needed - to draw children with big eyes, because they sell well on the market . And for disagreeing, he threatened to ruin my life: not to let me draw for myself. I had to agree." But after some time she admitted: “Actually, then he just oozed charm. He could charm anyone."
“Actually, back then he was just oozing with charm. He could charm anyone".
The life of a domestic tyrant
Walter grew up in a family with ten other children. His father Stanley Keane was born in Ireland and his mother was from Denmark. The Keanes' home was near downtown Lincoln, where they made most of their money by selling shoes. He also got into this business. In the early 1930s, Walter moved to Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from City College. In the 1940s he moved to Berkeley with his fiancee Barbara. Both were real estate brokers. They were selling houses.
Their first child, a son, died shortly after birth in the hospital. In 1947, they had a healthy baby girl, Susan Hale Keene. Walter and Barbara bought a huge house designed by famous architect Julia Morgan, who designed Hearst Castle in her time.
In 1948, the Keene family traveled around Europe. She lived in Heidelberg, then in Paris. And it was in the French capital that Walter began to study art, painting, first of all, nude. His wife Barbara was a culinary student and studied dress design at various fashion houses in Paris. When they returned home to Berkeley, they went into other business. They came up with the Susie Keane Puppeteens, a learning toy that taught children how to speak French and used gramophone records and books to teach. The largest room in their house, the “banquet hall,” became a workshop that housed what was essentially an assembly line for making toys—wooden dolls with various elaborate costumes. The dolls were sold in expensive stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.
And it was in the French capital that Walter began to study art, painting, first of all, nude.
Barbara Keene later became head of fashion design at the University of California at Berkeley. And Walter Keane subsequently closed his real estate office and toy company in order to devote his time to painting.
He divorced Barbara in 1952. And in 1953, at one of the art exhibitions, Walter met Margaret. She was married to Frank Ulbrish, with whom she had a daughter, Jane. He lived with Margaret for ten years. After his divorce from Margaret, Walter married his third wife, Joan Mervyn, a Canadian. Lived in London. They had two children, but this marriage also ended in divorce.
"My soul was scarred"
Keane told reporters that the idea of painting big-eyed children came to him when he was studying painting in Europe as a student.
“My soul was as if scarred while studying art in Berlin in 1946 - then the world was moving away from the horrors of World War II,” he said with pathos. - The memory of the war and the torment of innocent people was indestructible. It was read in the eyes of all survivors of this nightmare. Especially in the eyes of children.
I saw children with huge eyes in thin faces fighting over the remains of the festive food that someone had thrown into the trash can. Then I felt real despair, and even fury. In those moments, I made the first pencil sketches of these dirty, sad, angry, ragged victims of the war with their crippled minds and bodies, with their matted hair and perpetual coryza. There I started a new life as an artist who draws children with big eyes.
Memory of war and torment innocent people was indestructible.
After all, in children's eyes all the questions and answers of humanity are hidden. I am sure that if humanity looks deep into the souls of small children, then it will always follow the right path without any navigators. I wanted other people to know about these eyes, so I started drawing them. I want my paintings to reach your hearts and make you scream, 'Do something!'"
Here is an excerpt from the book.
Only part of the text is open for free reading (restriction of the copyright holder). If you liked the book, the full text can be obtained from our partner's website.
pages: 1 2 3 4 5
Today, the characters of her paintings - big-eyed, as if alien children - are known and loved by many. From the outside, today's life of a 90-year-old artist seems idyllic, but it all started far from rosy.
Her paintings - but not herself - were huge successes in the 1960s. Then Margaret Keane worked sixteen hours a day behind curtained windows in complete isolation from the outside world - while the authorship was attributed to her husband, who did not have artistic talent, but was an outstanding businessman and a clever manipulator.
The deceit was revealed in court in 1986, at which the artist not only claimed her rights to these works, but was also able to prove her authorship by drawing a big-eyed baby right in the courtroom.
After the trials of the year, the public was divided into two camps: some accused Margaret Keane of weakness and infantilism, others admired her courage and selflessness. And until now, the question of what prompted a talented healthy young woman for many years to unquestioningly obey her husband and agree to voluntary seclusion remains open.
Charming Walter
Margaret met her future husband Walter Keane at an art exhibition in San Francisco. In her own words, Walter literally radiated charm. And how much work was required in order to charm a lonely woman with a small child in her arms? At this time, Margaret was desperately trying to earn at least some money, fearing that her ex-husband would take her daughter away from her. Walter, although he did not have the talent of an artist, undoubtedly had other equally important qualities - he was an excellent marketer. A plan quickly formed in his mind to monetize Margaret's talent. Therefore, deciding not to miss such a profitable game, Walter, without thinking twice, married an aspiring artist.
With the permission of his wife, he began to sell her paintings near the entrance to one of the clubs in San Francisco. Portraits of children with exaggeratedly large naive eyes interested people passing by who wished to purchase them. The resounding success of Margaret's paintings that followed could not have been foreseen even by her husband. The peak of popularity came in the first half of the 1960s, while the original creations of the artist were sold at lightning speed for fabulous sums. For those who could not afford the original, Walter found a much less expensive alternative - every kiosk began to sell reproductions of his wife's paintings in the form of greeting cards, calendars and posters, dispersed in millions of copies. Moreover, the enterprising husband Margaret used not only paper media - big-eyed crumbs were even depicted on kitchen aprons.
The fact that her husband puts his signature under her portraits, Margaret did not immediately find out. And when she finally guessed and demanded to immediately fix everything, she received a furious rebuff from him. Walter told his discouraged wife that everything had gone too far, and if now he confesses to forgery, then they will have to sue outraged buyers of her paintings until the end of their days, demanding a refund. Margaret was finally convinced to remain silent by his argument that society would never take a woman in the field of art seriously.
"Wailing Folk Art"
Shy and insecure Margaret, who from childhood felt lonely and unhappy, it was easy for the domineering Walter, reveling in undeserved fame, to keep in complete obedience. Convincing her that she did not know how to behave in society, Walter forbade his wife to appear at social events, and if, nevertheless, sometimes, for the sake of decency, she had to attend them, he stopped all attempts by his wife to start a conversation with any of the guests . He also represented his wife as his apprentice, mixing paints for him. Margaret transferred all her pain and loneliness to the canvases: the children and women depicted on them with sad eyes the size of a saucer reflected her inner deep feelings. In her work, she painfully searched for answers to questions: why is there so much evil in the world, why close people bring so much grief.
Like any artist truly passionate about her favorite work, Margaret was more worried not about how much income her works brought in - at that time Walter earned millions of dollars on them, while not giving his wife a cent - but what kind of reaction they caused from the audience . Unfortunately, not everyone admired the sad characters in Margaret Keane's paintings; there were also ardent opponents of her work. Among them are American Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, who called them "weepy folk art", as well as leading American art critic, author and art historian John Kenaday, who smashed Margaret's work "Tomorrow Forever" to smithereens in his article in The New York Times . On this picture, depicting an endless column of children of different nationalities, stretching to the horizon, Keene worked day and night. As a result, the "tasteless daub" - such an unflattering definition was given by an art critic to the work of the artist - was removed from the wall in the pavilion of education at the international exhibition "Expo" in 1964 in New York.
From big money and fame, Walter Keane literally lost his mind - later psychiatrists diagnose him with a severe mental disorder. Threatening to deal with Margaret and her daughter, he forced his wife to write more and more canvases, dictating to her what should be painted on them. Their house in San Francisco was flooded with dissolute girls who did not put a penny on Margaret, preferring not to notice her at all. At times she ran into them in the matrimonial bedroom, then she had to go to work in the basement. Such a humiliating situation completely exhausted her. Gathering her strength, she and her daughter moved to live in Hawaii. Settling near the picturesque Hawaiian beach of Waikiki, located in the Honolulu region on the south coast of Oahu, she found peace of mind for the first time in many years. But Walter, even in this heavenly place, was not going to leave her alone: Margaret still continued to write and send him pictures.
"Sweet Demon Couple"
The religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses helped her finally break off relations with her tyrant husband, instilling self-confidence in the woman. Spiritually strengthened, Margaret married sports writer Dan McGuire, and she told him about her misadventures. Supported by her husband and members of a religious organization, Keene took to the local radio, where she publicly declared who the author of the big-eyed paintings really was. Her performance had the effect of an exploding bomb. “A couple of sweet demons” - this is how the journalists dubbed the Keane couple, behind whose sentimental pictures, in their opinion, greedy and vile people were hiding. But Margaret, by her own admission, never wanted to sue her ex-husband for money, she just wanted to stop deceiving people. By the way, she never received from him the four million dollars awarded to her, since Walter Keane squandered all the money earned from the sale of her paintings in fashionable resorts. Despite this, Margaret, according to her, does not feel anger towards him, but, on the contrary, considers herself guilty of everything that happened to them.
"Big eyes"
Half-faced eyes of the zombie-like girl Sally in the animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas, the disproportionately huge glasses of the eccentric confectioner Willy Wonks in the fantasy film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - it is easy to see that in many works of the American film director Tim Walter Burton, there is a connection with work of Margaret Keane. Oddly enough, but an eccentric Hollywood producer, famous for films full of black humor, is crazy about the big-eyed works of the artist. In addition, Burton has the most extensive collection of them.
Friendship with the artist and a sincere interest in her work prompted Tim Burton to make the film Big Eyes, which tells the story of the Keene family drama so believably that Margaret could not watch it without tears. According to the artist, she was most struck by the performance of the Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who played the role of Walter Keane in the film. He not only looked like him, but masterfully adopted his manner of speaking, habits and arrogant behavior. After watching Big Eyes, the elderly woman came to her senses for two days, it was especially hard for her to watch the game of Amy Lou Adams, who embodied her on the screen. After a while, Margaret, as she says, managed to free herself from the memories that flooded over her, and she began to perceive this film as fantastic. By the way, in one of the frames you can see two Margarets - the young one is diligently drawing at the easel, and the elderly one is sitting on a bench with a book in her hands.
Crazy filmmaker Tim Burton loves to inject macabre elements into his films, such as the skeleton dance in Corpse Bride. The quiet family film Big Eyes was no exception. In one of the episodes, the main character begins to hallucinate - she begins to see all the people with huge eyes in the store. It looks, to put it mildly, creepy.
This year, Margaret Keane will be 91 years old, despite her advanced age, she continues to paint pictures. Only children don't cry at them now. On one of her canvases - "Love Changes the World" - the artist depicted how her work has changed after breaking up with Walter: on the left side of the work, kids are drawn with sad, despairing eyes, on the right - laughing boys and girls who literally glow with happiness .
There is such a thing in science and art as "breakthrough". A vivid example of a breakthrough is the work of Pushkin, the charm of great poetry that has not aged for centuries. Today, for example, I came across such a funny dialogue on the Internet.
.
What can I say, well, not all contemporaries of the "sun of Russian poetry" managed to break through the years and distances like this to the hearts of teenagers of the twenty-first century ...
In the same row with Alexander Sergeevich, the names are Andrey Rublev, Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Gaudi, Dali, Bosch.
The phenomenon of a breakthrough through time sometimes happens to our contemporaries, and it is always very interesting.
It seemed to me that the artist Margaret Keane is just such an example.
The enchanting glory of the artist Walter Keane in the middle of the last century shocked America in the 50s. His paintings, which depicted sad children with huge, lively, talking, even screaming eyes, were extremely popular all over the world. 
The secret from the whole world was that in fact the paintings belong to the brush ... of Walter's wife, fragile, timid and silent Margaret. But Walter himself at first did not understand what kind of treasure he practically picked up in the alley of the city park, where a lonely divorced woman with a small daughter painted portraits of passers-by for a penny in order to feed the girl and pay for the cheapest room in the world. He certainly made sooo big eyes when he decided to sell one of her paintings at an auction, where they paid for it ... several thousand dollars! Since then, the enterprising Walter Keane began a new life. He quickly married Margaret, who was stunned by the happiness that suddenly fell in his image, and explained to her that she should draw pictures, and he, using his reputation and connections, would profitably sell them, as if they were his own creations. And so they both will solve absolutely all their problems! How shocked the public was when they found out that the author of the trendy paintings was Walter Keane's wife, Margaret Keane.
Here in the photo is the real Mr. Keane and the actor who played him in the movie "Big Eyes" 
Tired of her husband's humiliation, Margaret sued him and told the whole world who the real author of the works was. The very way in which the artist proved her right to intellectual property is interesting - right in the courtroom, both of them, Walter and Margaret, painted from the picture. Further - it is clear.
Margaret Keane, when her secret was already out
Recently, the film "Big Eyes" was released - a biography of Margaret Keane, the story of her torment, imprisonment in her own house, fear for her life and the life of her daughter. The film was shot for a long seven years, and this is a rarity for American filmmaking. Check it out if you are touched by this life story. 
These photos show the real Margaret, who is now alive and looking great, and the lovely talented actress who played her in the film. 
A stunning example of a very beautiful old age without silicone and operations, but solely due to the unique talent, inner purity and joy of creativity. 
And from myself, I wanted to add specifically for our puppet site.
In the paintings of Margaret Keane, the origins of the creation of some of the modern dolls that are now popular, in particular, Sue Lin Wang and Blythe dolls, are very noticeable. And the phenomenon of a breakthrough in the art of the doll cannot go unnoticed. Perhaps, thanks to the work of Margaret Keane, someone will discover new dolls with amazing big beautiful eyes. Sometimes I hear opinions that the eyes of these children are frightening. It seems to me that they do not scare, but they say. And silently. One can only guess what hurt so much in the soul of this fragile woman, but. After all, her tragic story ended in a world triumph, which means that everything was not in vain. Or maybe so - Mrs. Keen knew the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and applied the "Wolf theory". It is important for a child to see everything! “Why do you have such big eyes? To see you better." And if you see a lot, you know a lot! Therefore, these eyes do not frighten me, for me they, like, for example, Bosch's paintings, are only a breakthrough in the art of depicting the world. What the world is made of.
.
Margaret D. H. Keane is an American artist best known for her portraits of women and children, which are characterized by exaggerated large eyes. Margaret was born in 1927 in Tennessee and continues to create her paintings to this day.
In the 60s of the XX century, she sold works under the name of her husband Walter Keane. Who was a skilled businessman and a good advertiser. The paintings gained worldwide fame and were published on everything that was possible. The Keene family even opened their own gallery, but at some point Margaret got tired of the constant lies and the need to hide herself and her work. Therefore, in 1986, she officially declared the true authorship of her works, after which she was forced to speak in court against her ex-husband. During the hearing, the judge demanded that Margaret and Walter paint a portrait of a child with characteristic large eyes; Walter Keane refused, citing shoulder pain, and it took Margaret only 53 minutes to write the paper. The court recognized the authorship of the artist, after which she received $ 4 million in compensation.
The secret of big eyes. Big eyes, why?
Always "Why, why?". These questions, it seems to me, were later reflected in the eyes of the children in my paintings, which seem to be addressed to the whole world. That's why babies have big eyes. The gaze was described as penetrating into the soul. They seemed to reflect the spiritual alienation of most people today, their longing for something outside of what this system offers.
Stylistically, the work of Margaret Keane can be divided into two stages. The first stage is the time when she lived with Walter and signed her works with his name. This stage is characterized by dark tones and sad faces. After Margaret's escape to Hawaii, joining the Witnesses of the Jehovah's Church and restoring her name, the style of Margaret's work also changes. Pictures become brighter, faces, albeit with Big eyes, become happy and peaceful.
Posters of Margaret's paintings were distributed in millions of copies, and decorated the interior of many houses. We recommend that you read about how best to decorate the interior with paintings in this article:
Margaret and her husband currently live in Northern California. Margaret continues to read the Bible every day, she is now 87 years old and now has a cameo role as an old woman sitting on a bench.
The biography of Margaret Keane formed the basis of the Tim Burton film Big Eyes, which was released in Russia on January 8, 2015.
“I hope the film helps people never lie. Never! One tiny lie can turn into terrible, scary things."
Quotes by Margaret Keane
"Stand up for your rights, be brave, and don't be afraid."
“I drew what was in my heart and I think it touches the hearts of other people. We are all born with this desire to know why we are here and God is here, and those big eyes were looking for answers.”
Paintings by Margaret Keane
Poets, writers, designers, artists People of the creative profession are constantly distinguished from ordinary people by inadequate behavior at home and in secular society, or by excessive constraint and solitude, as can be seen in the example of the mid-20th century American artist Margaret (Amy Adams). In her studio, she creates a new style of painting portraits and somehow tries to earn a living. Suddenly, after the first unsuccessful marriage, Walter Keane (Christopher Waltz), full of energy, appears on her way, who impresses with his pressure and creative energy oozing from him in huge streams. The new Keane family is no longer stuck in second-class apartments, thanks to the successful promotion of paintings with small, big-eyed children. The success of the artist Walter Keane exceeds all expectations, and the sad look of the canvases appears in almost every family. “First he sold paintings, then photographs of them, and now postcards with photographs of these paintings.”
Tim Burton has long been famous in cinema as an extraordinary personality. On his screen canvas, eccentric characters constantly appear with very unusual goals, with quite worthy professions. In his new film "Big Eyes", the director has left the country of blood rivers, where people roam with blades in place of fingers and produce chocolate with Oompa Looms. He immerses the viewer in the real world, in the fifties of the United States, when an unknown style of portrait art is revealed to society. Margaret is a creative person, but there is a frightened animal in her that does not allow her to act at her full potential. Throughout the duration, the viewer is introduced to the inner world of the heroine and shows the mental anguish associated with artistic activity. You might think that Margaret has a strong core that allows her to leave her past life and go to a foreign city without work, and even with a child in her arms. "It can't be, youre in Long Beach!". But the more we plunge into the bright and colorful atmosphere, the more we are convinced of its weakness. The first meeting with Walter Keane on the alley of artists seems like a ray of hope for a bright future and a successful career. But, alas, again a junction, a puncture in her unhappy life. “The eyes are the mirror of the soul. That's why they are so big. I always do that. / Why are you lying?”
The moment of exposure becomes fatal in the fate of the heroine. She is not able to answer the question, who is the artist of these amazing paintings, which, in turn, brazenly uses her husband. “Unfortunately, the public does not buy women's paintings. Signed "Kin". I am Kin and you are Kin". On this basis, the personal drama of the artist begins to flare up. She cannot find a place for herself and dutifully continues to write in oil red the glory of her second husband. Her conscience gnaws at her because of the constant lie, which has no good reason to be born into the world. “What worries you? / I lie to my child. It's not right". Throughout the duration, the viewer observes a deep protest against the current situation and the weak character of Margaret, which does not allow her to put an end to her inglorious past.
Amy Adams has already won a Golden Globe for "Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)" for her work in Big Eyes. This is fully justified, due to the fact that the actress was accurately felt the nature of her character and demonstrated on the set in front of the camera. She appears as a shy, unassuming girl whose basic human instincts become dull at the slightest stress. She behaves stiffly in public and every word she says is perceived by an uneducated, ridiculous manner of communication. I love the ability of Amy Adams to transform her facial expressions in each project, which allows you to create an impressive number of different characters. In the new Tim Burton film, she looks pathetic and somehow downtrodden. Compassion wakes up to her and at the same time reproach. Reproach for the fact that it does not have a voice capable of defending its rights. It is played flawlessly and the critical acclaim is justified.
The lead male role went to two-time Academy Award winner Christopher Waltz, who ruined such an interesting role. His game is like a child pampering in front of an amateur home camera. Many dramatic episodes were spoiled by his rebelliousness. You can refer that this is such a character and the character of Walter Keane should look like that. But it turned out something incomprehensible and not impressive. During the court hearing, Waltz crossed the line between drama and Jim Carrey style and tried to create his own version of a lawyer from the beloved comedy Liar Liar.
"Big Eyes" this picture, which cannot be said about other works of Tim Burton: "Amateur". Before the eyes of the viewer, a real story develops, after which wonderful emotions and high spirits remain. The overall bright picture with rich color tones is in perfect harmony with the brilliant acting, in addition to the above-mentioned actor, music, camera work and an addictive creative atmosphere.
