3 weeks Ago By Patrick Hipes
A cozy thatched cottage tucked beside a tree-lined lane, smoke curling from brick chimneys. Lampposts casting a glow over the scene. These are the soothing images – the functional equivalent of comfort food — that made artist Thomas Kinkade a fortune in the 1980s and ‘90s.
Museums spurned the homespun canvases, but ordinary Americans couldn’t get enough. Related Stories Doc Talk Podcast: Oscar Winner Alex Gibney Opens Secret Vault Of Political Cash In ‘The Dark Money Game’ Who Wants The Funk? ‘We Want The Funk!’ On Doc Talk Podcast With Stanley Nelson & Nicole London Kinkade called himself the “Painter of Light,” with no apology to an earlier artist known by that moniker — 19th century British landscape and seascape painter J.M.
W. Turner. We don’t know what if any secrets Turner harbored, but it turns out Kinkade possessed a dark side amid all that light.
His complicated and fascinating story is told in the acclaimed new documentary Art for Everybody , directed by Miranda Yousef . The filmmaker joins the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to discuss her film, which enjoys a 100% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Yousef explains how Kinkade built an art empire, selling his work and branded merchandise through mall stores.
He became a born-again Christian and successfully marketed his paintings as conveying old time-y values that resonated with religious conservatives. But meanwhile, he was battling demons and secretly creating artwork of a very different kind than what he had become known for – paintings he hid away in a vault. No cozy cottages here.
Watch on Deadline Kinkade’s widow and four daughters (each of them named for a famous painter) are interviewed in the documentary but didn’t have any role producing it. This is not one of those “authorized biography” kind of productions. Doc Talk co-host John Ridley says the film “jumps to the head of the line” of documentaries released this year, declaring, “I was just blown away by it.
” The New York Times ’ Alissa Wilkinson gave it a Critic’s Pick designation, praising the film as “well structured, meticulously researched and revealing.” ( Art for Everybody is screening April 29 at Vidiots in the Los Angeles area). Painter of light or dreck? That’s the question on the new edition of Doc Talk, co-hosted by Oscar winner Ridley ( 12 Years a Slave, Shirley ), and Matt Carey, Deadline’s documentary editor.
The pod is a production of Deadline and Ridley’s Nō Studios. Listen to the episode above or on major podcast platforms including Spotify , iHeart and Apple ..
