Billion Dollar Painter The Triumph and Tragedy of Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light

G. Eric Kuskey, Bettina Gilois, Jim Meskimen

eAudio - 2014

The unbelievable true story of artist Thomas Kinkade, self-described "Painter of Light," and the dramatic rise—and fall—of his billion-dollar gallery and licensing businessHe was just one man, but Thomas Kinkade ultimately made more money from his art than every other artist in the history of the world combined. His sentimental paintings of babbling brooks, rural churches surrounded by brilliant fall foliage, and idyllic countryside cottages were so popular in the 1990s that it is estimated that one out of every twenty homes in America owned one of his prints. With the help of two partners—a former vacuum-cleaner salesman and an ambitious junior accountant who fancied himself a businessman—Kinkade turned his art into a bil...lion-dollar gallery and licensing business that traded on the New York Stock Exchange before it collapsed in 2006 amid fraud accusations.One part fascinating business story about the rise and demise of a financial empire born out of... more