Margaret Keane

Margaret Keane (Margaret D. H. Keane, Peggy Doris Hawkins; 1927 – 2022) was an artist from the USA, renowned for her distinctive style of painting subjects with large, expressive eyes, ‘Big Eyes’. Her artwork was initially attributed to her then-husband, Walter Keane (Walter Stanley Keane; 1915 – 2000), until their divorce when Margaret claimed credit. Despite the authorship controversy, Walter Keane’s name remains associated with this unique style.

Margaret primarily painted vulnerable women, children, or animals with enormous eyes using oil or mixed media. Her work, which achieved commercial success through inexpensive reproductions on prints, plates, and cups, was a significant influence on the Pop Art movement of the 1960s and sparked a ‘Big Eyes’ movement. Despite the critical acclaim, her work was also criticised as formulaic and cliché.