In 'Big Eyes', what is the name of the real-life painter whose husband stole her credit?

In Big Eyes, the real-life painter whose husband stole her credit was Margaret Keane.

Keane created the famous paintings of children with oversized, melancholy eyes that became enormously popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Her second husband, Walter Keane, presented the work publicly as his own, using his personality and promotional skill to build a lucrative art business around paintings he had not painted.

Margaret eventually left Walter and publicly claimed authorship. The dispute culminated in a 1986 federal lawsuit, where a judge asked both of them to create a big-eyed painting in court. Walter declined, while Margaret completed hers in 53 minutes. The jury awarded Margaret $4 million, although an appeals court later overturned the damages while upholding the defamation ruling.

Tim Burton’s 2014 biographical film dramatizes this episode, with Amy Adams playing Margaret and Christoph Waltz playing Walter. Those actors are therefore not the answer, and Walter is the husband who took credit rather than the painter whose work was misattributed.