Lot 378
Purchased from 'the Margaret Keane Gallery, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii' August 12, 1976. Comes with a Certificate of Authentication & Appraisal dated August 15, 1976 for USD $500
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Dimensions:
- According to certificate the painting outside of frame measures 4'' x 5'' Literature:
- 1415 Medium:
- Fine Art Circa:
- Painting Notes:
- It is often said that “the eyes are the window to the soul” so you would think that an artist would have little to capture in painting faces of young innocent children largely unsullied by the curve balls that life has yet to throw at them. Perhaps that’s why American artist Margaret Keane’s signature works portray vulnerable waifs with oversized eyes whose expressions foretell their sad awakening to a world full of peril. Despite the critics who viewed her work as kitsch and formulaic, the greater public lapped it up, if only in the form of reproductions on plates and cups and inexpensive prints. Any visitor to a gallery these days can purchase all manner of ‘arty’ souvenirs to remember their brief brush with culture, but the monetisation of art on cheap disposables was largely unheard of before the arrival of ‘Keane’s Kitsch.’ The brazen commercialisation of Keane’s art was lauded by the upcoming Pop Artist Andy Warhol who adopted the formula himself saying “that what Keane has done is just terrific. It has to be good. If it were bad, so many people wouldn't like it.” Of course, in her early career Keane was not even the acknowledged artist of the work. Her husband Walter, an amateur painter but certainly a marketing genius, paraded the works as his own while Margaret was kept in the ‘sweatshop’ painting for up to sixteen hours a day to satisfy demand. It wasn’t until their divorce in the 1960s that Margaret was able to prove authorship of the works after a court ordered a ‘paint-off’ to establish the true artist. Walter feigned injury and couldn’t produce the goods while the 'masterpiece' that Margaret was able to bang out in just 53 minutes proved it all for the judge. Over time, many respected artists fall from favour if the public aren’t constantly reminded of their value by the prominent display of their art in well-regarded public galleries or through retrospective exhibitions that bring together the cream of their work. Keane’s works might not hang in too many haughty galleries but, her art remains popular and her profile high especially after the release of the film of her life ‘Big Eyes’ directed by a Keane collector Tim Burton in 2014. Today even the ‘kitsch’ painted crockery from the 60s commands value in the collector market. No doubt Warhol himself would’ve concurred that ‘Kitsch is Kool’ and that ‘Art in Advertising’ or ‘Advertising in Art’ are products of American exceptionalism. This month Smalls Auctions offers an original 1976 miniature oil on canvas titled the ‘Eye’ signed by Margaret Keane. The work which focuses solely on the facial feature for which she is most famous was first purchased directly from the Margaret Keane Gallery, Hawaii in August 1976 and comes complete with a ‘Certificate of Authentication & Appraisal.’
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| A$0 | A$99 | A$5 |
| A$100 | A$999 | A$10 |
| A$1,000 | A$4,999 | A$50 |
| A$5,000 | A$9,999 | A$100 |
| A$10,000 + | A$250 |