Thomas Kinkade Investigated by the FBI for Fraud

Posted by Mary Rayme Aug 24, 2006

Is it possible to create a franchise based on the work of one artist? Thomas Kinkade, alleged Painter of Light, sure thought so. Now many of his former investors have sought the aid of the FBI to help them investigate Kinkade for fraudulently encouraging investors to open stores that had no chance of surviving, but made Kinkade a lot of money.

You may or may not be familiar with the sappy, light-soaked paintings of idyllic cottages that have become Kinkade's hallmark and have been featured on a multitude of products from greeting cards, t-shirts, mugs, and prints. Kinkade is a formula illustrator, not an artist, who found an image that people responded to, knew how to market himself, and had the hubris to think he could do what no other legitimate artist had done before him, franchise his artwork.

Think about it. If you go to your local shopping mall there is no Picasso Store, or Rembrandt Store. But Kinkade was able to convince investors that he had the chops and the name to make them money. By attaching the tagline to his name, Painter of Light, he implies that he can do something no one else can do which is render light. But even this is not so.

The Impressionists were the group of painters led by Manet, Monet, and Pissaro who were interested in capturing the beauty of changing light. They also pointed out artistically that light is what defines mass and objects, not the mass itself. Light is beautiful and they knew it.

Kinkade's offended investors claim that Kinkade plotted to devalue his company, Media Arts Group, Inc., so he could then buy it at a discount. With product sales of $100 million per year, one wonders why Kinkade bothered to get so greedy.

There is no end to Kinkade's arrogance. He also claims to be the most widely collected artist in the world. Too bad he is not an artist--just a capitalist run amok.