Thomas Kinkade

Thomas Kinkade
Kinkade in 2005
Born
William Thomas Kinkade III

(1958-01-19)January 19, 1958
DiedApril 6, 2012(2012-04-06) (aged 54)
EducationArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena[1]
Known forPainting

William Thomas Kinkade III (January 19, 1958 – April 6, 2012)[2][3] was an American painter of popular realistic, pastoral, and idyllic subjects.[3] He is notable for achieving success during his lifetime with the mass marketing of his work as printed reproductions and other licensed products by means of the Thomas Kinkade Company. According to Kinkade's company, one in every 20 American homes owned a copy of one of his paintings.[4]

Kinkade described himself as a "Painter of Light", a phrase he protected by trademark, but which was earlier used to describe the English artist J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851).[5]

Kinkade was criticized for some of his behavior and business practices; art critics faulted his work for being "kitsch". Kinkade died of "acute intoxication" from alcohol and the drug diazepam at the age of 54.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Thomas Kinkade Story was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mercury was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Matt Flegenheimer (April 7, 2012). "Thomas Kinkade, Artist to Mass Market, Dies at 54". New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  4. ^ Glaister, Dan (May 9, 2012). "Thomas Kinkade: the secret life and strange death of art's king of twee". theguardian.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  5. ^ "Joseph Mallord William Turner". The National Gallery. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012. Turner is perhaps the best-loved English Romantic artist. He became known as 'the painter of light', because of his increasing interest in brilliant colors as the main constituent in his landscapes and seascapes.