Thomas Kinkade
Thomas Kinkade, born William Thomas Kinkade III on January 19, 1958, in Placerville, California, was a prominent American painter renowned for his idyllic pastoral scenes illuminated with vibrant light, a style he branded as the "Painter of Light." Kinkade's artistic journey began at a young age, influenced by local artists and mentors, leading him to study at the University of California, Berkeley, and later the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. He achieved significant recognition in the 1980s, selling his limited edition prints and original oil paintings, often depicting serene landscapes, cottages, and nostalgic American life.
His work's accessibility contributed to its widespread popularity, with estimates suggesting that one in twenty U.S. homes features a Kinkade print. Throughout his career, Kinkade created over a thousand original works and engaged in numerous commissioned projects, including pieces for Disney and other major corporations. Despite his artistic success, Kinkade faced personal challenges and financial difficulties, including a bankruptcy filing in 2010. He passed away in 2012 due to an accidental overdose, and his legacy continues to evoke a mixture of admiration and criticism, particularly regarding the contrast between his public persona and the darker themes discovered in his posthumously revealed artworks. In 2023, a documentary titled "Art for Everybody" was released, shedding light on his life and the complexities of his artistic legacy.
Thomas Kinkade
Artist, painter
- Born: January 19, 1958
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: Placerville, California
- Died: April 6, 2012
- Place of Death: Place of death: Monte Sereno, California
Education: University of California, Berkeley; ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena
Significance: Famous as a self-proclaimed "Painter of Light," a title that he trademarked, Thomas Kinkade was known for his paintings of pastoral scenes with illuminated details, often with a Christian theme.
Background
William Thomas Kinkade III was born on January 19, 1958, in Placerville, California. He and his two siblings were raised by their mother, Marianne, after his parents divorced. As a young boy, Kinkade enjoyed drawing and was encouraged by his family to pursue his interest.
At the age of eleven, Kinkade was befriended by a local artist who taught him some basic painting techniques. He subsequently sold his first painting that year for $7.50. Before graduating from El Dorado High School in 1976, Kinkade met famed painter Glenn Wessels, who mentored the young man and encouraged him to attend the University of California (UC) at Berkeley, where Wessels once taught. Kinkade completed his general courses at UC Berkeley before transferring to the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. He later said this was where he began working with capturing light on canvas in the way that would become his trademark. His work at the ArtCenter got him noticed by Disney Studios, and he was hired to help paint more than seven hundred backdrops for the Disney animated movie Fire and Ice (1983).
By the early 1980s, Kinkade decided to become a professional artist. He used his savings to start making limited edition prints of his paintings and set up offices in his garage. His first set of limited edition prints was entitled Dawson. The painting and prints depicted a gold rush town on the Yukon River in nineteenth-century Alaska and were sold by mail and in the parking lot of a local supermarket. The first set of prints sold out.
Life’s Work
During the 1980s, Kinkade began selling original oil paintings through galleries while still selling prints of some of his work. From the start, his work often featured peaceful scenes of cottages, gardens, and bridges, along with idealized scenes of American life. He was strongly influenced by American artist Norman Rockwell. Kinkade frequently hid secret images in his artwork, including the initials and names of his wife and children as well as small images of Rockwell.
For a time between 1984 and 1990, Kinkade also tried his hand at some impressionist-style works that he painted under the name Robert Girrard.
Kinkade’s work was sufficiently popular to attract the attention of some investors, who helped fund the distribution of his work throughout the 1980s. By 1989, he had formed his own company, Lightpost Publishing, to help with the distribution of his work. Prints of his paintings began appearing on notebooks, calendars, and other commercial products. During the course of his career, some of his original oil paintings would sell for as much as tens of thousands of dollars, but the average person could own the same image on a coffee mug. This earned him criticism from some in the art world but served to increase attention and interest for his prints and paintings among people who ordinarily had just a passing interest in art.
His work was available for sale in galleries, specialized Thomas Kinkade stores, and through home shopping networks, among other sources. Kinkade’s paintings were turned into three-dimensional ornaments and ceramic figures of cottages and other scenery. Large corporations began commissioning him to do special projects for them, and Kinkade painted commissioned pieces for Disney, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the New York Yankees, and others. A painting he did commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Disneyland in 2005 has been appraised at more than $1 million.
Kinkade showed his entrepreneurial side in the untraditional ways he sought to use his artwork. His company, Media Arts Group, was at one point bringing in more than $128 million per year from 4,500 dealers before it encountered financial difficulties in 2002. Kinkade and his company were charged with misleading creditors. After a series of court actions, the company was ordered to pay $860,000 in 2006, an amount that was later increased to $2.8 million to cover legal costs and interest incurred. His company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010.
Kinkade also had some personal difficulties. He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2010 and interrupted a Las Vegas show by shouting at the performers. He died at his home in Monte Sereno, California, on April 6, 2012. The coroner’s autopsy results attributed the death to an accidental overdose of the sedative Valium and alcohol.
Impact
Although he had his critics, Kinkade was widely considered one of the most popular artists of his time. He painted more than one thousand original works during his career and was often chosen to paint commemorative paintings of important occasions. It is estimated that one out of every twenty homes in the United States displays one of his prints or paintings.
Personal Life
Kinkade married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette, on May 2, 1982. The couple had four daughters: Merritt, Chandler, Windor, and Everett. However, the Kinkades separated in 2010, and he was living with a girlfriend, Amy Pinto, at the time of his death. Kinkade’s family and Pinto were engaged in a legal dispute over his assets; the dispute was subsequently resolved, with all details kept private.
A documentary about Kinkade's life, career, and untimely death, Art for Everybody, was produced in 2023 by Miranda Yousef. The film, which was for best documentary at the Cleveland International Film Festival, describes the secret trove of paintings his daughters uncovered after his death, paintings with much darker images and subjects than his public work.
Bibliography
"Art for Everybody." IMDb, www.imdb.com/title/tt26593365/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Duke, Alan. "Coroner: Alcohol, Drug Killed Thomas Kinkade." CNN. Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, 8 May 2012. Web. 10 May 2016.
Harborn, Kate. "From Our Archives: Thomas Kinkade’s American Dream." Saturday Evening Post. Saturday Evening Post Society, 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 May 2016.
Jacobs, Deborah L. "In Battle for Thomas Kinkade Estate, Girlfriend Doesn’t Have a Prayer." Forbes. Forbes Media, 22 Aug. 2012.Web. 10 May 2016.
Rosenberg, Mike. "Thomas Kinkade, One of Nation’s Most Popular Painters, Dies Suddenly in Monte Sereno at 54." San Jose Mercury News. Digital First Media, 6 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 May 2016.
Schmidt, Alex. "Dark Times Befall ‘Painter of Light’ Thomas Kinkade." NPR. NPR, 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Thomas Kinkade Bio: From Humble Beginnings." Kinkade Dreams Collection. Thomas Kinkade Disney Dreams Collection. Web. 10 May 2016.