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Thomas Kinkade’s Life Was Nothing Like His Idealized Paintings. A New Documentary Looks at His Multimillion-Dollar Success and Dark Downfall
'Art For Everybody,' a documentary about painter Thomas Kinkade, looks at his downfall after achieving vast success and his hidden stash of paintings.
His sentimental, sanitized landscapes full of Christian motifs and storybook cottages, some of which were lit with tiny LEDs embedded in the canvas, were so popular that, at one point, it was estimated that one in 20 American houses owned Kinkade artwork via a painting, a calendar, a Christmas ornament, a postcard, a commemorative plate or a La-Z-boy recliner dressed in his fabric. Kinkade, who died of an overdose of alcohol and valium in 2012, called himself the “Painter of Light.” His trademark art consisted of romanticized environments complete with golden sunsets, an abundance of pastels, and cozy homes that glowed excessively from within. In the doc, interviews with Kinkade’s family, including his four daughters and ex-wife, archival home videos and tape recordings, as well as dark paintings from his early career, help to shed light on the man behind the brand.
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