With the sudden death of the commercially successful 54-year-old painter Thomas Kinkade Friday, renewed interest and appreciation in the artist has grown.
Kinkade’s luminous and tranquil paintings of idyllic landscapes and seascapes were mainstream successes in art galleries across the nation.
There are picturesque scenes of lush gardens, cottages and churches that are featured in about 10 million homes nationwide. While his sentimental pieces were large-scale commercial successes, Kinkade, whose death was attributed to natural causes, was often criticized by the art community.
Art critics called his work “schlocky” and formulaic, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But despite his critic, Kinkade, born in Placerville, Calif., called himself the “Painter of Light” with his products fetching as much as $100 million a year in sales, according to the Associated Press.
His private company reportedly sold $32 million per quarter in paintings and reproduced products such as lithographs, canvas prints, calendars and figurines.
in Glendora, Calif. carries about 35 pieces of Kinkades’ products, mostly lithographs on canvas. Some of the works at the gallery are signed by Kinkade.
According to gallery representatives, the Thomas Kinkade official website is currently down, and the gallery is taking down names and phone numbers of anyone interested in purchasing a Kinkade product. They will begin placing orders as early as tomorrow.
