Walter Keane - Dispute

Dispute

As early as 1957 it was reported that Margaret superimposed some of her work onto her husband's paintings, with Walter quoted as saying, "When I paint people, she usually complains that the eyes aren't big enough and proceeds to make them bigger," but photos released in 1961 showed both Walter and Margaret at the same time painting portraits of actress Natalie Wood, with Margaret representing her as a "pensive, sophisticated woman" and Walter portraying her as a "wistful, wide-eyed waif", as well as additional photos showing the two Keanes at work in their studio, both painting 'big-eyed' portraits, with the figures in Walter's work having their eyes more exaggerated than those of Margaret's.

The couple separated in November 1964 and a divorce was granted in May 1965. After their separation, and in speaking about how the two met, Margaret stated "It was the eyes that did it. I liked the way he painted eyes and he liked mine." "...I admire his genius tremendously." By 1970, Margaret was remarried, having wed Honolulu sportswriter Dan McGuire.

The dispute between Margaret and Walter began after release of a news article in which Walter compared himself to Rembrandt and El Greco. In a response at odds with released photographs of the two at work and her own earlier published remarks, Margaret stated that it was actually she who did all the 'eyes' paintings and then issued a public challenge to Walter for a "paint off" to be held in San Francisco's Union Square. Walter chose to ignore Margaret's challenge, being initially "flabbergasted and at a loss for words", and then later "amused by the claims". Margaret appeared and produced a painting, but Walter did not attend.

In 1984, Margaret continued asserting that her ex-husband "couldn't learn to paint at all", and challenged Walter to another paint-off. In an announcement of the new challenge, she was quoted as saying, "Let him paint or shut up". Walter had suggested to USA Today that Margaret was claiming credit for the pictures only because she thought he was dead. In response, she slapped him with a slander suit. During the 1986 lawsuit, a federal judge in Honolulu, Hawaii ordered both Walter and Margaret Keane to paint pictures for the jury. Margaret produced a painting in 53 minutes, while Walter pleaded that he was taking medication for a painfully injured shoulder and declined to paint. Margaret had also brought in drawings she had done when an eleven-year-old child that had similarly over-sized eyes. Losing the lawsuit, he was ordered to pay her $4 million for emotional distress and damaged reputation.

Even having lost the suit, Keane continued to insist that he was the creator of the big-eyed children. Walter Keane, who habitually referred to himself in the third person, took special pride in the eyes, which were part of the reason for his commercial success. Their dispute continued for decades, with both Walter and Margaret claiming to be creators of the large eye motif. In 1991, he was quoted as saying, "I painted the waifs of the world." Rumors of Keane having died in 1993 were dispelled when he showed up in early December at a location in Brentwood to autograph copies of his autobiography, The World of Keane.

Keane was 85 when he died 7 years later, on December 27, 2000, in Encinitas, California.