# 1970's Bug-Eyed Kids Pictures **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988 "2010-05-19T11:59:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/1 "2010-05-19T11:59:57Z")
I still see those horrible pictures from the 1970’s-at yard sales. They were cheap, mass produced pictures of kids, dressed in various ways (Amish, country, city)-but the faces always were the same. they featured creepy looking kids, with enormous black eyes. Is there a name for this dreadful style of 'art"? Some 1970’s version of Kincaid, perhaps? Of course, maybe these things wil be valuable some day-should I pick up a few? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/2 "2010-05-19T12:05:45Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Of course, maybe these things wil be valuable some day-should I pick up a few? How long can you wait? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/3 "2010-05-19T12:05:47Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Some 1970’s version of Kincaid, perhaps? Yep. [Margaret Keane](http://www.keane-eyes.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/4 "2010-05-19T12:06:11Z")
Blame it on [Margaret Keane](http://www.keane-eyes.com/). :rolleyes:Other than big eyed child paintings I suppose you could call them Keane Kids.:rolleyes: Many people do refer to them as those creepy kids paintings. There is an urban myth that houses with them burn down soon after the picture is purchased by the owner. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/5 "2010-05-19T12:44:29Z")
[Mark Ryden’s](http://www.google.com/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=mark+ryden&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=hdzzS4uBAY2AsgOqjbWEDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=6&ved=0CEkQsAQwBQ) artwork takes this idea into dark territory. In other words, he is FANTASTIC! Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/6 "2010-05-19T13:38:05Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Yep. [Margaret Keane](http://www.keane-eyes.com/). This brings back memories of a fun thread [Anne Hathaway’s Eyes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=510779) where I was able to think of [Ms. Keane](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10949088&postcount=26) in answer to my own question about these kids. There are some other noteworthy eyes mentioned in that thread. Some delightful, some not. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/7 "2010-05-19T15:43:38Z")
That’s funny, I am a child of the 70s (born in 63) and I don’t remember these at all. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/8 "2010-05-19T15:50:14Z")
Though in the '70s they’d have been known as the work of Walter Keane, her ex-husband. I hate the artwork but love the story about their divorce in which she wanted to claim the rights to the artwork she’d been producing all along. At trial she created a painting in court as evidence she was the artist while Walter said some injury prevented him from painting at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/9 "2010-05-19T15:51:34Z")
Oh, and for me growing up I think I just assumed that any home displaying her art would also somewhere have a Love Is… item nearby. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/10 "2010-05-19T16:00:56Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > That’s funny, I am a child of the 70s (born in 63) and I don’t remember these at all. How about the big-eyed puppies and kittens? I had those as a kid. I always remember the signature being Gig. Maybe Gig just did animals? We’ve had a thread on this before and there were a few people doing these type pictures, those already mentioned and the Gig person. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/11 "2010-05-19T16:26:19Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Other than big eyed child paintings I suppose you could call them Keane Kids. Do they have oval heads? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/12 "2010-05-19T16:35:38Z")
_Don’t need no lava lamp Don’t need no soap-on-a-rope No pictures of Mexican kids with those really big eyes Or dogs playing poker …_ – ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, “[Velvet Elvis](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Velvet-Elvis-lyrics-Weird-Al-Yankovic/A1D281AC5BAB79774825690E00216FF9)” ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/13 "2010-05-19T18:06:06Z")
Gah. My mom was a sucker for these, as well as that asswipe Kincaid’s POS’s. I hate 'em all. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/14 "2010-05-19T18:07:54Z")
Is Margaret Keane the evil sister of Bil Keane? ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/15 "2010-05-19T19:31:10Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > How about the big-eyed puppies and kittens? I had those as a kid. I always remember the signature being Gig. Maybe Gig just did animals? We’ve had a thread on this before and there were a few people doing these type pictures, those already mentioned and the Gig person. YES! I had those too–I think they were called “Pity Kitties” (the kittens, at least). ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/16 "2010-05-19T20:24:25Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Gah. My mom was a sucker for these, as well as that asswipe Kincaid’s POS’s. I hate 'em all. I actually know people who like that stuff. Go figure. I’d rather have the poker dogs on my wall, if I was forced to choose. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/17 "2010-05-19T20:29:48Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > There is an urban myth that houses with them burn down soon after the picture is purchased by the owner. Well sure, think of how much more heat they’d absorb. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/18 "2010-05-19T20:37:27Z")
I treasure my print of Keane’s “Go-Go”, showing two very sad looking kids moving it on the dance floor in their late '60s garb. It gained me admission to a Bad Taste party years ago. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/19 "2010-05-19T23:42:12Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Is Margaret Keane the evil sister of Bil Keane? Which is more evil is debatable . . . ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1970s-bug-eyed-kids-pictures/539988/20 "2010-05-19T23:46:56Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Do they have oval heads? The oval-headed calico-wearing ones are what I remember. Pretty sure I’d never seen nor heard of the Keane things until this thread.