Thomas Kinkade and his Art for the Masses

It made sense to me that this article by Susan Orlean was written in 2001, because that's about the time I remember Kinkade paintings being at the height of their popularity. You couldn't go into a Christian bookstore without seeing an entire section or wall dedicated to Kinkade, and I know we must have some form of one of his works in my house, somewhere. Even before I began studying art, I always thought the pieces were pretty, but they lacked something. And even then they seemed commercial. After reading this article, I was very put-off by the business and monopoly that Thomas Kinkade has created in the art world, but you have to admit, he was kind of brilliant.

He paints a certain number of works, which, granted, are quite beautiful. He decides he wants to share these works with the rest of the world, but it would be impossible to paint that many pictures. So why not create prints? Or even better, digital, high quality, on-canvas prints? And then have other painters come in to "highlight" the prints for the new buyers, so the buyers actually feel like they're getting something original.

The tone of the article was slightly mocking, and I agree. I laughed when I saw the author compare the "Limited Edition" prints to Beanie Babies. I also was irritated by the simpering, fawning people who work at the Signature Galleries across the country. It's a shame, because these paintings are truly pretty, but they are always going to be slightly stained with the fact that they are indeed copies, and they are produced in a rather soulless environment. People get what they pay for, and in this case, it's one of who knows how many lithographs (and they never really will tell, thus driving up demand), and a story to go behind it. All I kept thinking was "wow, this is pretty narcissistic of this guy." Making his employees know his birthday, his sad, broken childhood, his hopes and ambitions, just so they can pass on these kernels of sentimentality onto the next buyer? I thought it was a little shameful.

Or brilliant. According to the article he is "America's most profitable artist." I guess it's a matter of opinion.