Art for Everybody

Thomas Kinkade was one of the most successful artists of his day, with millions of cozy cottage paintings sold across the U.S. On his passing in 2012, a newly discovered vault contained a series of darkly themed paintings that reveal a more complicated and troubled man than his most popular works implied.

Thomas Kinkade is one of the most famous American painters of all time—an icon met with as much devotion by his hordes of fans as with revulsion by the art world. But past the idyllic scenarios in his works, Kinkade remains a uniquely unexamined and complicated figure who struggled with mental health and addiction. The self-described “Painter of Light” gets a full exploration in this documentary—from the contradictions between his public persona for his Christian audience and his real at-home personality, to his hostile relationship with the art establishment, to the crushing demands that came with his popularity. ART FOR EVERYBODY examines the tension between art and commerce while offering a potent portrait of the power of addiction. —C.F.

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