Thomas Kinkade

Thomas Kinkade (January 19, 1958 – April 6, 2012)^[3] was an American painter of popular realistic, bucolic, and idyllic subjects.^[3] He is notable for the mass marketing of his work as printed reproductions and other licensed products via The Thomas Kinkade Company. He characterized himself as "Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light," a phrase he protected through trademark but one originally attributed to the English master J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851).^[4] He was claimed to be "America's most-collected living artist" before his death^[5] with an estimated 1 in every 20 American homes owning a copy of one of his paintings.^[6]

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas Kinkade
• Thomas Kinkade on www.findagrave.com