Thomas Kinkade was born on the 19th January 1958, in Sacramento, California USA, and was a painter, the author of numerous images widely used in USA. His pictures were distributed among other ways by mail order. Dozens of his works were also published as puzzles – he described himself as Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Light. He passed away in 2012.
How rich was the painter? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the overall size of Thomas Kinkade net worth was equal to $70 million, converted to the present day. Painting was the main source of his wealth.
Thomas Kinkade Net Worth $70 Million
To begin with, Thomas Kinkade was raised in the city of Placerville, California. In high school, Kinkade was taught by Glenn Wessels, a former professor of the art department at the University of California, who taught Kinkade to tie his art more directly to his emotions, and who influenced his decision to attend the University of California at Berkley; after two years, Thomas moved to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. In 1980, Kinkade alongside James Gurney secured a contract with Guptill Publications to produce a design manual. “The Artist’s Guide to Sketching” (1982) was published, which was one of the best seller of the same year, the success of which helped them get hired by Ralph Bakshi Studios to paint backgrounds for the animated film “Fire and Ice”. In 1984, Thomas and his wife Nanette published their work “Dawson”, a tribute to Alaska, which was a great success and quickly sold out. With the help of some investors he opened many galleries across the country, meantime painting more than 1,000 masterpieces depicting natural scenery, idyllic scenery of gardens, streams, lighthouses, stone cottages and main roads. For critics his paintings are devoid of substance, described as art from a box of chocolates and commercial art. However, Kinkade is the most collected American artist in the world, with an estimated 5% of US homes displaying his work.
Moreover, Thomas Kinkade received numerous awards for his works, including multiple National Association of Limited Edition Dealers (NALED) awards for Artist of the Year and Graphic Artist of the Year, and his art has been named Lithograph of the Year nine times. In 2002, Thomas Kinkade was inducted into the California Tourism Hall of Fame as an individual who has influenced the perception of the touring public in California as his images have made California a tourist attraction. Thomas Kinkade met the Pope, USA presidents, and any number of celebrities to convey his message full of hope, and life affirmation.
Furthermore, Thomas Kinkade was involved in numerous partnerships, including with one of the largest charity organizations in the USA, The Salvation Army. The Thomas Kinkade Foundation supports non-profit organizations that focus on children, humanitarian relief and the arts.
Finally, in the personal life of the painter, he married Nanette, his high school sweetheart, in 1982 and the couple had four daughters. They apparently separated the year before Thomas Kinkade died at his home in Monte Sereno, California on the 6th April 2012 – he was just 54 years old.
