Thomas Kinkade news
Bermuda999
(1.)
"Kinkade gallery investigated in fraud case, ex-dealers say"
By Kim Christensen
LOS ANGELES TIMES 8/30/06
The FBI is investigating allegations that self-styled "Painter of
Light" Thomas Kinkade and some of his top executives fraudulently
induced investors to open galleries and then ruined them financially,
according to former dealers contacted by agents.
The criminal probe focuses on the same issues raised in civil
litigation by at least six former Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery
owners.
Those ex-owners alleged, among other things, that the artist known for
his dreamily luminous landscapes and street scenes used his Christian
faith to persuade them to invest in the independently owned stores,
which must sell Kinkade's work exclusively.
"They really knew how to bait the hook," said one ex-dealer who spoke
on condition of anonymity because of the pending investigation. "They
certainly used the Christian hook."
Two ex-dealers told the Los Angeles Times that they had been asked to
provide documentation of their business relationships with Kinkade's
company.
They said agents asked for copies of dealer agreements, retail sales
policies, training materials from "Thomas Kinkade University" and
correspondence, including e-mail.
Kinkade spokesman Jim Bryant said Monday that the Morgan Hill-based
company was unaware of a criminal investigation and had not been
contacted by the FBI or U.S. attorney's office.
"The Thomas Kinkade Co. asserts that there is no legitimate grounds for
a federal investigation of any kind," Bryant wrote by e-mail.
Kinkade has previously denied the allegations in the civil litigation.
FBI Special Agent Brian Wickham declined to comment Monday, citing the
bureau's policy of neither confirming nor denying ongoing
investigations.
Others familiar with the case, however, said the FBI's San Jose office,
where Wickham is based, was coordinating an investigation in which
agents from other offices across the United States are conducting
interviews.
After investing tens of thousands of dollars, or more, former gallery
owners said the company's unfair practices and policies drove them out
of business.
They alleged they were stuck with unsalable limited-edition prints,
forced to open additional stores in saturated markets and undercut by
discounters that sold identical art works at prices they were forbidden
to match.
Some also have accused Kinkade -- touted as the most widely collected
living U.S. artist -- of scheming to devalue his public company, Media
Arts Group Inc., before taking it private two years ago for $32.7
million as Thomas Kinkade Co.
Kinkade grew up in Placerville and began his rise to fame in the 1980s,
when he and his wife spent their savings to start making his prints.
Since then he has built a lucrative career from the mass marketing of
his distinctly romantic, idealized images with such titles as "Sunset
on Lamplight Lane" and "The Garden of Prayer."
Although critics have been less than generous with their praise, and
sometimes openly derisive of his work, that has not deterred the
multitudes who pay from a few hundred dollars for paper prints to more
than $10,000 for canvas editions he has signed and retouched.
The FBI investigation comes on the heels of the company's first major
legal setback in dealer litigation. In February, an arbitration panel
awarded $860,000 to the former owners of two failed Signature
galleries.
The panel ruled that the company and one of its executives, Richard
Barnett, "failed to disclose material information" that would have
dissuaded Karen Hazlewood and Jeffrey Spinello from investing $122,000
to open the first of their two Virginia galleries in 1999.
The arbitrators, in a 2-1 ruling, also found that Kinkade and other
company executives used the artist's familiar Christian-oriented themes
to create "a certain religious environment designed to instill a
special relationship of trust" with the couple, who have since
divorced.
"It was a program of lies and deception, predicated on Christian values
that weren't there," said Joseph Ejbeh, the Michigan attorney who tried
the arbitration case.
Norman Yatooma, whose firm Ejbeh worked for at the time, has said the
panel's interim award of $860,000 could total $3.5 million when
interest, costs and attorney fees are added.
Bryant, the Kinkade Co. spokesman, said the company is confident the
interim arbitration ruling will be overturned.
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(2.)
"Thomas Kinkade Paints Graceland"
"MORGAN HILL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 2006--Elvis Presley
Enterprises Inc. has selected Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Light(TM),
to create a commemorative painting of Graceland, the former home of the
King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Thomas Kinkade will create on
location an original Plein-Air Study that will be featured at a press
conference held at Graceland on Friday..."
"Who better to capture a classic icon of the American experience like
Graceland than America's most collected living artist, Thomas Kinkade,"
stated Kelly Hill, International Licensing Manager for Elvis Presley
Enterprises Inc."
...
"Thomas Kinkade is fulfilling his promise as an artist ambassador. In
many ways, his paintings chronicle all that is good about the American
experience," says Linda Mariano, Vice President, Marketing & Licensing
at The Thomas Kinkade Company. "Thom is increasingly interested in
painting American icons. His forthcoming release of 'The Spirit of New
York' depicts the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. Graceland, too, is a
landmark and holds a special place in the American psyche."
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(3.)
And, if you haven't browsed through these yet:
http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=1918&p=3
Mike Kruger
news:1159097572.4...@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> (1.)
> "Kinkade gallery investigated in fraud case, ex-dealers say"
> By Kim Christensen
> LOS ANGELES TIMES 8/30/06
>
> The FBI is investigating allegations that self-styled "Painter of
> Light" Thomas Kinkade and some of his top executives fraudulently
> induced investors to open galleries and then ruined them financially,
>
Let's hope the FBI can shed some Light(tm) on this.
--
"President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President
Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance on a far broader
scale." --Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez