Thomas Kinkade, Artist to Mass Market, Dies at 54

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Matt Flegenheimer

A detail from “The Forest Chapel” by Thomas Kinkade

CALIFORNIA - Thomas Kinkade, the prolific painter of bucolic and idealized scenes who estimated that his mass-produced works hung in one out of 20 American homes, died on Friday at his home in Los Gatos, Calif. He was 54. He sold his work directly, through his own franchise galleries or on cable television home shopping networks, and eventually online. Much of his work reflected Christian themes or visions of a traditional, rustic America residing in comforting solitude. [link]

He studied briefly at the University of California at Berkeley and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, before moving to Hollywood to paint backgrounds for an animated film called “Fire and Ice.” In the 1980s, Mr. Kinkade said, he became a born-again Christian. The change dovetailed with a shift in his career path. Rebelling against what he considered the elitism of modern art, Mr. Kinkade moved his focus to retail, not a traditional gallery system. He began publishing inexpensive prints of his work and, later, opened his own galleries.

“I view art as an inspirational tool,” he told The New York Times in 2001. “People who put my paintings on their walls are putting their values on their walls: faith, family, home, a simpler way of living, the beauty of nature, quiet, tranquillity, peace, joy, hope. They beckon you into this world that provides an alternative to your nightly news broadcast.”