#31 • Margaret Keane "Nude Hawaiian Female" Oil Painting

Part of March 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $7,000.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

An original oil on canvas partial nude painting by the 'Mother of Big-Eye Art' Margaret Keane (American, 1927-2022). The work depicts a pale woman sitting cross-legged, stroking her hair upon which a light plumeria flower sits. The background brings to mind the colors of the Hawaiian oceans, the whole piece having a tropical theme with the canvas in a gilded bamboo frame. The artwork really showcases Margaret Keane's style, what is called "Keane Eyes" with her subjects being called "Big Eyed Waifs". She painted these types of images for more than sixty years, with a resurgence of interest in her work after the release of the biopic Big Eyes by Tim Burton, based on the public feud between Keane and her ex-husband Walter Keane, in which he claimed the paintings as his own work. A federal court sided in Margaret's favor in 1986, and she continued painting until her death in 2022. This artwork measures approximately 28" x 22" overall and the canvas measures approximately 24" x 18". Acquired directly from a gallery in Hawaii during the 1980's, original gallery label still present, as photographed.