Calgary Public Library

Billion dollar painter, the triumph and tragedy of Thomas Kinkade, painter of light, G. Eric Kuskey, with Bettina Gilois

eng

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biography

Billion dollar painter

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889941470

G. Eric Kuskey, with Bettina Gilois

the triumph and tragedy of Thomas Kinkade, painter of light

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 billion-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 divine inspiration, one part dramatic biography, Billion Dollar Painter is the account of three nobodies who made it big. One was a man who, despite being a devout Christian who believed his artwork was a spiritual force that could cure the sick and comfort the poor in spirit, could not save his art empire--or himself

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