Hamilton Nolan is snarking gleefully over the fact that Thomas Kinkade, whom he calls “Painter of Darkness”, has lost a round of the endless litigation he’s been involved in for years now, ever since he took his company private in 2004. Now I’m no fan of Kinkade. But the plaintiffs in this case are trying to make a pretty astonishing case: that they’re owed damages on the grounds that Kinkade talked a lot about God, and thereby fraudulently persuaded them to place their trust in him.
This argument doesn’t really hold water, and in fact Kinkade has — justly — won the vast majority of the lawsuits which have been brought against him. I wrote about this case at some length back in March 2006, so I might as well just plagiarize myself here: Kinkade is more of a bad businessman than an evil one.
Kinkade took his business public in 1994, with a $110 million IPO. Between 1997 and 2005, according to Kim Christensen of the LA Times, he earned more than $50 million in royalties. And at the end of Jauary 2004, just over 9 years after going public, Kinkade bought back his company for $32.7 million – a price about $14 million higher than the company’s market capitalisation at the time. People who bought Media Arts Group at $20 per share, of course, weren’t particularly thankful that Kinkade paid them $4 rather than $2.30 for their stock. But the fact is that Kinkade was more optimistic about the outlook for his company than the markets were.
The people who ran Kinkade stores are upset at him, because he acted a bit like Chrysler towards dealers it ended up closing: Kinkade forced the dealers to buy expensive inventory which simply didn’t sell, and refused to accept returns unless they were accompanied by orders for three times as much art as was being returned. Obviously, it was hard for the shops to make money in such circumstances. But I get the feeling they’re missing the forest for the trees: they weren’t losing money because of the decisions being made by Kinkade’s company, so much as they were losing money because they’d hitched their wagon to a company which was in a tailspin.
Obviously, they have every right to try to sue. But it’s pretty hard to make the case that one should expect better behavior from Christians than from non-Christians. And any company, once it starts failing, is going to result in people losing money. It’s also worth pointing out that virtually everyone who entered the Kinkade industry did so out of greed – not just Kinkade himself.
The store owners saw a booming market, and then lost money when the market stopped booming and the internet made secondary-market values of Kinkade’s work much more transparent. Suddenly, the enormous growth in past Kinkade sales was no longer a good thing: there were a lot of Kinkades to go around, and many of the buyers were people who bought on the assumption that their paintings would increase in value and they could make money on their investment. Up until the arrival of the internet, that worked for Kinkade, whose company set the prices for all his paintings and would raise them steadily. After the arrival of the internet, a whole industry arose buying and selling Kinkades at market-set, rather than Kinkade-set, prices. And that was the end of the success days for the company: without monopoly pricing power, Kinkade was nothing.
The stores failed, ultimately, not because Kinkade treated them badly, and not because other stores were undercutting them. The stores failed because Kinkades are a commodity, and anybody wanting to buy one could get a second-hand Kinkade online at a much lower price than that charged at retail. Buyers no longer believed that their paintings would increase in value, so they bought fewer than they used to. And when they did buy, they were likely to buy already-existing Kinkades rather than new ones.
As a general rule, no retailer has ever consistently been able to make money by selling the proposition that his goods are going to increase in value after they’re bought. Kinkade managed it for a few years, but then, inevitably, the bubble burst. And when bubbles burst, people get hurt. It’s not the fault of Thomas Kinkade, it’s simple market dynamics.
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34 comments so far
But I miss the stores; going into one was like visiting an alternative universe, sort of a non-threatening adult version of American Girl, complete with Master Highlighters who’d dab actual paint on your print. What kitsch!
- Posted by jonathanBTW, forgot to say: “Painter of Light” = Painter of Shite.
- Posted by jonathanI noticed that FS didn’t include Kinkade in his recent list of top dog late 20th century artists….
My hope is that Kinkade extends his empire to tattoo parlors — folks could go in and get a shiny highlight or two added to the old tat during the holiday season or before a big party, concert or athletic event.
- Posted by bdbdThey should have waited until he was dead.
- Posted by Lordhis jigsaw puzzles in Wal-Mart seem to be doing well
- Posted by JohnThere is just no justification for spending more than $100 on a decoration that can be in every household in the neighborhood.
- Posted by rozNo, he’s evil.
- Posted by KGCDear Felix,
- Posted by Steven AustenThe Signature Gallery you are talking about was in Michigan during 9-11-2001. Almost all of the Signature Galleries are
doing better than ever (Not franchises).
Thomas Kinkade’s last three paintings for Disney SOL OUT
and doubled or tripled in value in this ecconomy!
Thomas still has the most beautiful detailed lumist art
and most people still love “Faith & Family values”
NOT greed like you accuse us of!
Thomas Kinkade is the real thing and that’s why Anti-Christian people in the comments slander him!
God bless all those who attack a fellow American, Steve
Over here we call T.K. “Painter of Blight”.
- Posted by SusanI bought one of his jigsaw puzzles at Target for about $7. Its given me a hundred hours of entertainment, because his painting is COMPLETELY wrong for a jigsaw puzzle. It has no real lines or definition, so I’ve spent 100 hours and have about 4 of the 500 pieces connected.
- Posted by MRTSo, my vote is for evil.
Is it too late to join the lawsuit?
Dear Felix,
- Posted by Steven AustenWhat kind of people post comments in your web site?
Thomas Kinkade paints the most beautiful paintings and
they touch most peoples lives in a very positive way!
Only negative people who want to slander Thomas have
written evil things in your comments!
I did research today and the secondary market on ebay
is all priced HIGHER than the prices in my Gallery!
Snow White is actually tripled in value in less than
one year! Thomas Kinkade does NOT set the secondary
market prices and has NEVER under sold the Signature
Galleries on QVC! He sold Paper prints on QVC. Do research
more often! You are playing with real people’s lives!
God bless you, Steven (in the name of Christ Jesus)
Kinkade “art” is for people who spend their lives wishing they lived in Disneyland or some fantasyworld. My advice to anyone unfortunate enough to have his stuff in their house is to go immediately and take it out to the dumpster. Get a Monet print instead.
- Posted by Apphouse50Claude Monet is a wonderful artist!
- Posted by StevenThomas Kinkade also paints in French Impressionism and
has published tributes to his idols like Monet, Manet,
Van Gogh and Renoir.
Of course you didn’t know that because you have done
ZERO research on the person you are slandering!
Thomas Kinkade is an American Master artist!
I pray that you forgive whoever hurt you in the name
of Christ Jesus. John 3:16
Steven - I have done research on Thomas Kinkade. I also minored in art history in college and am working on an MA in textile history with an emphasis on quilt design.
Thomas Kinkade and his relentlessly wholesome paintings bear as much resemblance to Monet, Degas, Morisot, and the other Impressionists as they do to the USS Enterprise. He is a sharp businessman, a terrible artist, and yet more proof that no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people.
- Posted by EllidSteve — THREE comments? Touchy much? As for the Snow White which “tripled in value in less than one year”, I believe you’re talking about this. Which says it all, really.
- Posted by Felix SalmonThis is why we need art education — so people won’t buy that CRAP Kinkade’s company puts out! Awful, horrible garbage!
- Posted by donnaSorry, you’re all wrong about his title, which is:
“The Painter of Trite”(TM)(R)(C)
[And I say that as a Christian, Steve. It is after all our duty to rebuke others who stray...]
- Posted by MFAWell, I guess I hit a soar spot!
- Posted by Steven AustenNot one of you mentioned your favorite artist! maybe you
all hate art anyway! Thomas Kinkade’s detailed layering
techniques and yes, French impressionism under the name
Robert Girrard are amazing!
That is why Thomas Kinkade is the most popular artist in
the entire World. So please get a life and stop being
so NEGATIVE about everything! Children please have fun
while you can because your eternity is right around the
corner! Don’t wake up when it’s too late to get back Home!
God bless everyone who commented on this blog, Steven
John 3:16 (and don’t say Andy Warhol or Ozzie Osborne)
Shorter version: News flash! Lunch still not free! Film at 11!
- Posted by Rick00People who buy this crap grew up in households that displayed Elvis paintings on black velvet.
Enjoy.
- Posted by The Tim ChannelDear Tim, keep up the lies! You are going down a dark path.
- Posted by Steven AustenWe are praying for you! God bless, Steven
Look. Kinkade sells Wal-Art. It belongs in Wal-Mart. It’s bought by uneducated, uncultured, Americans who wish they lived in an era and place that never was. Wal-Art is to real art what a big Mac is to actual food. There is no comparison and anyone who displays Wal-Art or who gushes about it is just announcing their unsophisticated ignorance to the world.
And that’s a GOOD thing. Wal-Art buyers don’t purchase real art anyway (artists don’t give roll-back discounts or honor coupons) so artists should appreciate not having to ever deal with these people. I mean, you wouldn’t want someone walking into your gourmet restaurant and treating it like McDonalds. That’s exactly what would happen if they tried to buy real art. So it saves everyone time and embarrassment.
The only thing about Kinkade that bothers people is that he seems to actually believe the things he says. Everyone would love the guy if they thought he was producing a crappy product to take money off the “Left Behind” set. But it doesn’t matter. He does a service whether or not he believes his own marketing material.
So rather than getting upset, just direct these people to the nearest big box store to max their credit on a wide selection of overpriced, unnecessary garbage. That’s the closest they get to happy anyway. The rest of us can go to a museum.
- Posted by SarahThom Kinkade is truly a reflection of his blessed paintings, er…creations, which are, in fact, (I worked for lightpost publishing back in 2000) $15 canvas transfers! Posters that are vacuum glued onto canvas. Oh yeah, then some college kid -like me back then- dabbles some paint on it. Jeez, the chubby fella doesn’t even SIGN the thing himself. A machine does. Really.
SO while our man Mr Austen can sit there and defend ‘Ol “DALI IS OVERRATED” Kinkade, only because he’s drank the Fool-aid, and has his entire financial future is dependent upon his “Signature” galleries success. I say: buyer beware.
- Posted by Drew WinslowWhat one will pay for a $15 canvas transfer, signed by an auto-pen, and dabbled with paint by a college kid or OZZY tickets are both to the point of the article: its business and what the market decides.
Warhol’s work is in museums.
Britney Spears is popular, today.
- Posted by Drew WinslowEllid - I love listening to you learned art-minor elitists slam someone as a “terrible artist.” My good man (or woman), who are YOU to say what is good or terrible? Who is anyone to say such a thing? the essence of art is “art for art’s sake,” not whether the artist can please a textile student, or an art critic. The irony is so thick you can cut it with a knife!
And just to make sure you drive your point home - that YOU are the High Priest of Art who dictates the favorable and unfavorable - you insult THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!
I am so embarrassed for you. You end up appearing so very small. And of course, one could also surmise that you are driven to such bitterness by jealousy. But I could be wrong…you may be very sincere in your comments. If that is the case, then I am even more embarrassed for you, because in all of your extensive art studies, you missed the critical point: An artist never paints for anyone else.
- Posted by ArtFanOkay I finished reading the posts so I’ll write a general response to all who labeled Kinkade’s art as “crap,” “Big Mac,” and “WalArt.” You GUYS…you are making true art fans like us look so terrible…so demeaning, smug, holier-than-thou, elitist. You are insulting your fellow human beings who like this art. Why would you do that? Here’s a hard thing to read: YOU (AND I) ARE NOT ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE! Just because we like different art doesn’t make us better…just different. If you don’t prefer Kinkade, just say that. Insulting someone who doesn’t like the same art you do is the ultimate hypocrisy. Guess what? Some people think that a giant Campbell’s soup can is not art. And that’s OKAY! You make the case that popular opinion does not make any artist a REAL artist. Here’s a newsflash: minority opinion also does not make any artist a REAL artist. Just get out there to the galleries and enjoy art in all its variety and complexity, absurdity and simplicity. Just enjoy it!
- Posted by ArtFanI have an interest in the aquisition of an entire collection if anyone knows of the closing a store.
- Posted by BrianI know that T K does great work. My mother is an artist. There is beauty in all types of work, and each has the freedom to like what he chooses. please contact me if you can help dentistbk@aol.com thanks!!
i like thomas kinkade’s painting. he is very skilled with the brush and colors. some of his paintings have good composition too, but not all. some have lots of focal points that competes for attention. but the details. OMG! incredible.
too expensive though, 1800 $ for a 24×36 i think. no way.
- Posted by sawirhe’s more a painter of light BULBS.
- Posted by jj solariI worked as an outside sales consultant for media arts in 1997-1998.
- Posted by Lisa MartellIt was a crock of shit! The dealers had so many financial hoops to jump through in order to have the privilege to sell TK’s work.
Fact be known, all you are getting for $1,200+ is a canvas transfer (a print) with some hand highlighting by ART STUDENTS. Then TK does some Bull Shit signature by a machine with this DNA in it and these people fell for this crock of Sh**.
The art was the same thing over and over, a cottage, a fireplace, a warm fuzzy lampost, etc.,
the dealers later had to accept artwork by other artists because they simply couldn’t survive on Kinkade’s crap alone.
It all went bad when TK commercialized art. sold his soul to every company out there to have a likeness on their product. the other problem is the flooding on the market of these canvas transfers. too many, there no supply and demand sense here.
Bottom line, the dealers have been had, some over mortgaged their homes and faced foreclosure.
The consumers were had too, because they are not buying anything that the local flea market doesn’t have.
Thomas Kinkade may be a good painter, but there is no way of knowing since he only paints bad paintings. The fact that he is the most-sold painter in history is proof Jesus works miracles or else is proof people are idiots because they are basically dollhouse art for extremely old, returning-to-childhood customers who are supporting his “professions of Christianity” rather than making sound judgements on the value of his offset lithos. Assuming they are even that level of mechanical reproductions.
- Posted by jj solariAs a technician, Kinkade had to be complemented for being able to control his brush while laughing his butt off. I understand that a great many unsophisticated folks will shell out a few bucks for a litho of dogs playing cards. But when affluent people pay four figures for what’s basically the same sort of litho, you have to chuckle heartily.
- Posted by LemastreWow! Amateur artist and their egos! I am a 35 year professional artist-having worked for Disney as a scenic artist. Real professionals, not amateur artist or art history minors-WHOOPEE!, see Thomas Kinkade for what he is: an amazing artist that we all wish we were: successful, wealthy, and sought after. My favorite art is art that takes me to a happy place. To me, and it appears to the rest of the art loving world, is what we want and enjoy. There are 2 kinds of art people-those who think there is nothing greater then them, so there can be no God -that is where you find the perverts and weirdos full of hate, then there are artist like Thomas who believe art is something to honor God. Gob bless Thomas Kinkade in the name of Christ Jesus. and God bless all of you.
- Posted by carolI have several TK paintings. I brought them because I like “Cottages, Fireplaces, Trees, and Streams.” No other reason. I don’t care about the financial value, whether he is a great artist or not. I just like the paintings. Furthermore, kudos to TK for being a christian painter. For those critizing his paintings, let’s see you do better. Not all of us can buy original Monets, Van Goghs etc…, and no, I never owned a velvet covered painting. If you don’t like TK works, don’t buy them. But I don’t see the need to trash those who do like them. Did you lose money on his paintings? Too bad, that’s what you get for trying to make a quick buck on the cheap.
- Posted by Lynne