Company of Christian Artist Thomas Kinkade Files Bankruptcy In Face of Debt

Thomas Kinkade styled himself a Christian artist and made over $50 million in a 8 year period. Then he ran into trouble and one of his companies just filed for bankruptcy protection.

Thomas Kinkade branded himself the “painter of light” in the late 1990s has his landscapes and other paintings became incredibly popular. Now he is being called a deadbeat by one investor’s lawyer and is facing a huge financial problem. Having enticed investors to fund the opening of galleries across the country, the entire effort has gone bad from a financial perspective and he is being sued repeated by gallery investors who feel they got a raw deal.

Arbitration panels have ultimately agreed with the investors. Although Kinkade has not been named personally, panels have found his company failed to make certain disclosures that might have convinced investors that handing over $100,000 plus might not be such a smart decision. Instead, they argued he and his minions used their Christian faith as an inducement to obtain the investment. Indeed, it is one of these judgments that has resulted in the bankruptcy filing.

The legal machinations became such that the lawsuit in question ended up with the two investors, a married couple now divorced, being awarded over 2.8 million dollars in compensatory damages, interest and attorneys fees. Kinkade appealed the decision all the way to the Supreme Court who refused to hear it. The plaintiffs’ lawyer actually had a moving van pull up at Kinkade headquarters to seize art until Kinkade finally agreed to pay.



So, why are we in bankruptcy court now? Well, you can probably guess. Kinkade’s company made one payment of $500,000 and then didn’t make the rest. Instead of having his artwork seized again, bankruptcy was filed to create an automatic stay. What effect will it have in the long run? It is difficult to say. Kinkade still has hundreds of galleries open, so one imagines the court will order the judgment fulfilled, but will probably grant an easier repayment term.

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