Margaret Keane was born as Peggy Doris Hawkins. She was born in Nashville, TN in 1927.
Every since she was a little girl, Margaret doodled eyes on the margins of her school papers. At the time she could not explain her deep fascination with eyes; she just thought that eyes were the most expressive part of a person's face.
Margaret attended art schools in both Tennessee and New York. She met Frank Ulbrich and married him. They had a child together, Jane Ulbrich. Margaret eventually divorced him in the mid-1950s.
After she divorced Frank Ulbrich, Margaret and Jane moved to the North Beach neighborhood in San Francisco. In 1953 she met her future husband, Walter Keane.
Walter's charming ways swept Margaret off her feet. They married soon after meeting each other. Walter was a relator at the time and told Margaret that he was a classically trained artist. She believed him at time.
Margaret inspired Walter to rejoin the art world. Mesmerized by her paintings, Walter convinced Margaret that he could help her sell her paintings. Margaret was ignorant to the fact that Walter was taking credit for her paintings. When Margaret found out about her husband's slander, she was so shocked that she did not take immediate action.
Keane art was becoming more and more popular. Keane art did not appeal to high brow art critics, but it caught the eyes of average middle class Americans and Hollywood celebrities (in the photo Natalie Wood is being painted). The money kept rolling in...
Margaret was caught in an abusive marriage where she was forced to produce art work that would later be recognized as her husband's work. Margaret was tired of putting up with Walter, so when his abuse reached a dangerous level, Margaret and Jane left him and moved to Hawaii.