<P> William Thomas Kinkade III ( January 19 , 1958 -- April 6 , 2012 ) was an American painter of popular realistic , pastoral , and idyllic subjects . 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 which was originally attributed to the British master J.M.W. Turner ( 1775 -- 1851 ) . According to Kinkade 's company , one in every twenty American homes owns a copy of one of his paintings . </P>
<P> William Thomas Kinkade III ( January 19 , 1958 -- April 6 , 2012 ) was an American painter of popular realistic , pastoral , and idyllic subjects . 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 which was originally attributed to the British master J.M.W. Turner ( 1775 -- 1851 ) . According to Kinkade 's company , one in every twenty American homes owns a copy of one of his paintings . </P>
who is known as the painter of light
who is known as the painter of light
Thomas Kinkade
Thomas Kinkade