A new documentary continues the Thomas Kinkade art hustle

Philip Kennicott | Yahoo | 4th April 2025

Thomas Kinkade was an American artist whose “kitsch” Americana brought him great fame and art world derision. Later came mental illness and an early death. The story is rich with art world issues. What is art – do “black-velvet Elvis paintings count?”, asks one writer. Who decides this? Would critics who ridiculed his work deal equally harshly if his artworks were priced in the millions? Is a stash of unseen original Kinkades now worth a fortune? Details of the documentary are here.