Fine Art & Antiques Auction Ending 10/25

#521 – Four Keane framed prints, titles incl "At The Fair", "Rejected', "Best Friend", and "Watching", all signed lower left "Keane", sizes range from 13" x 7" to 24.5" x 10.5", two having plaques and one matted. Bio from AskArt: Walter Keane (1915-2000) born in Lincoln, Nebraska, became a highly-popular artist post World War II who was credited as a figure painter of wide-eyed "lost" children, waif-like and sympathy provoking. These images were reproduced throughout the world with originals in many collections including the United Nations, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid, Spain, and the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, Japan. From 1946 to 1947, he went to Berlin where he began his signature theme of "Lost Children." These paintings were inspired by his shock at seeing the thousands of war-orphaned, poverty-stricken children. He married his wife, Margaret, also an artist, and they lived in Oakland, and became public personalities because his work was collected by so many movie stars. By 1956, he and Margaret opened a gallery at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, and again his work got much attention. Shortly after, the couple returned to San Francisco where they had a gallery at for two years and then opened a gallery in New York City. Again he had many collectors but also received criticism for being repetitious with every canvas having a "lost" child. Margaret Keane (born 1927) is an American artist. She is an illustrator and painter, and mainly draws women and children in oil or mixed media. Her works are instantly recognizable from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings. In the 1960s, Margaret Keane's artwork was sold under the name of her husband, Walter Keane. He locked her in a room and forced her to paint, while taking credit for her work. Conflict over that issue was cited as one of the reasons they divorced. Neither wanting to relinquish rights to the artwork, Walter and Margaret's divorce proceedings went all the way to federal court. At the hearing, Margaret created a painting in front of the judge to prove that she was the artist. Walter declined to paint before the court, citing a sore shoulder. In 1986, the courts sided with her, enabling her to paint under her own name. In 2014, their story became a movie titled "Big Eyes" directed by Tim Burton.

Four Keane framed prints, titles incl "At The Fair", "Rejected', "Best Friend", and "Watching", all signed lower left "Keane", sizes range from 13" x 7" to 24.5" x 10.5", two having plaques and one matted. Bio from AskArt: Walter Keane (1915-2000) born in Lincoln, Nebraska, became a highly-popular artist post World War II who was credited as a figure painter of wide-eyed "lost" children, waif-like and sympathy provoking. These images were reproduced throughout the world with originals in many collections including the United Nations, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid, Spain, and the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, Japan. From 1946 to 1947, he went to Berlin where he began his signature theme of "Lost Children." These paintings were inspired by his shock at seeing the thousands of war-orphaned, poverty-stricken children. He married his wife, Margaret, also an artist, and they lived in Oakland, and became public personalities because his work was collected by so many movie stars. By 1956, he and Margaret opened a gallery at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, and again his work got much attention. Shortly after, the couple returned to San Francisco where they had a gallery at for two years and then opened a gallery in New York City. Again he had many collectors but also received criticism for being repetitious with every canvas having a "lost" child. Margaret Keane (born 1927) is an American artist. She is an illustrator and painter, and mainly draws women and children in oil or mixed media. Her works are instantly recognizable from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings. In the 1960s, Margaret Keane's artwork was sold under the name of her husband, Walter Keane. He locked her in a room and forced her to paint, while taking credit for her work. Conflict over that issue was cited as one of the reasons they divorced. Neither wanting to relinquish rights to the artwork, Walter and Margaret's divorce proceedings went all the way to federal court. At the hearing, Margaret created a painting in front of the judge to prove that she was the artist. Walter declined to paint before the court, citing a sore shoulder. In 1986, the courts sided with her, enabling her to paint under her own name. In 2014, their story became a movie titled "Big Eyes" directed by Tim Burton.

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