I chose an article that I found online after searching keywords such as “Margaret Keane” and “Walter Keane.” I decided that a good place to start with my research paper would be to collect as much background information as possible, building a strong understanding of the lives within my hoax.
This article gives an overview of the lives of Margaret and Walter Keane, and a brief summary of the hoax itself. It also incorporates elements from the film that I will be using as one of my main sources, Tim Burton’s Big Eyes.
However, one of the main reasons this article proved to be important to my research question was due to the fact that it addressed the question of whether or not Margaret’s reveal as the true artist hindered the success of her paintings. The answer to this question, that her paintings actually became more valuable and coveted by current owners, will adapt my argument.
The fact that Margaret was a woman as opposed to a man seemed to have no effect on art lovers, despite what her husband had told her. So I now will ask the question, did Margaret’s perception of the world’s feelings towards woman have an effect on how she perceived herself as an artist? Did this help aid Walter Keane in manipulating his wife to allowing him to take the credit for her paintings?
Stallings, Tyler. “Melancholy-Pop: ‘Big Eyes’ Screenwriters Discuss Art, Commerce, and Margaret Keane.” KCETlink. Drew Tewksbury, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
This is a great source, Rachel, and I think it will give you a lot of material to work with for your paper! I think that your finding that her paintings were successful when the world knew they were made by a woman is good evidence that it didn’t matter to art lovers. You may still want to look at information about women’s success in the art world more generally, because it could be that she got a lot of attention because of the hoax that she may not have if she had just been another woman painter… but that’s just a thought.
The citation mostly looks good, but I can’t tell what the “Drew Tewksbury” refers to. That would typically be where the publishing company would go, which here would be KCET (again).