Margaret Keane

Many born in the late 1950s and 1960s grew up under the sad, soulful big-eyed images of artist Margret Keane's popular art. Yet, the middle class purchasers displaying her paintings on suburban walls never knew the true artist. Her husband, Walter Keane, sold the kitsch paintings as his, making millions. She divorced him in 1965, eventually confessing the ruse, but Walter claimed she was a liar. In the mid-1980s, she won a defamation lawsuit when a judge proposed each produce a painting in court. Walter refused.

The life of artist Margaret Keane was made into a Tim Burton film in 2014 entitled Big Eyes. Though she has never gained favor in the world of art critics, she continues to paint. Margaret Keane's paintings and art for sale still feature subjects with big eyes, but her more recent art exudes joyfulness. Peruse vintage and contemporary paintings online to find a piece that expresses powerful emotion.