• Wife of 'Painter of Light' Thomas Kinkade seeks restraining order against his girlfriend

    The brother of Thomas Kinkade says the renowned painter's alcohol relapse may have contributed to his sudden death. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    By Gil Aegerter, msnbc.com

    There's a new twist in the aftermath of the death of Thomas Kinkade, the artist called the "Painter of Light."

    Attorneys representing his wife, Nanette, and estate have filed for a temporary restraining order against Kinkade's girlfriend, Amy Pinto-Walsh, to prevent her from disclosing information about him, Los Gatos Patch reported.

    The publication said court documents from Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose showed that the attorneys said Pinto-Walsh had signed a confidentiality agreement on Feb. 25, 2011.

    Painter Thomas Kinkade was 'drinking all night' when he died

    The documents also state that Kinkade died April 5, not April 6 as previously reported, Los Gatos Patch said.

    The Patch said that when it interviewed Pinto-Walsh, 54, by phone on April 7, she said she had been with Kinkade when he died at his estate and had called 911. She told the Patch that she had been his girlfriend for 18 months and that he had been separated from his wife for a while.

    Pinto-Walsh is still living in Kinkade's estate.

    'Painter of Light' Thomas Kinkade dies at age 54

    The order sought by the attorneys for Nanette Kinkade seeks to prevent Pinto-Walsh from making statements that criticize Kinkade or his wife and to prevent her from publishing anything concerning Kinkade, his wife or any of his companies.

    Apparently, there are worries about trade secrets, Los Gatos Patch reported:

    To back up their arguments, the attorneys included in their petition declarations made by family friends Linda Raasch, Denise Sanders, Robert Murray and Lisa M. Lawrence. ...

    Murray writes in his declaration that he's been present in meetings which Pinto-Walsh also attended, during which aspects of Kinkade companies' business plans, strategies, financial information and other private sensitive information were mentioned.

    Based on Pinto-Walsh's relationship with Kinkade, she had access to information regarding Thomas Kinkade Studios' proprietary painting techniques, including paint type, brush techniques and the use of computer technology in painting, the records stated.

    No official cause of death has been give in the Kinkade case. Kinkade and his wife have four daughters.

    Popular painter Thomas Kinkade died from natural causes Friday in his California home, his family said. NBC's Michelle Franzen reports.

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  • 'Painter of Light' artist Thomas Kinkade dies at age 54

    Popular painter Thomas Kinkade died from natural causes Friday in his California home, his family said. NBC's Michelle Franzen reports.

    By NBCBayArea.com and msnbc.com staff

    One of the most popular artists in America, "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade, died Friday at his home in Los Gatos, Calif., his family said.

    He was 54, and his family issued a statement that his death appeared to be from natural causes.

    "Thom provided a wonderful life for his family,'' his wife, Nanette, said in a statement. "We are shocked and saddened by his death.''


    His paintings are hanging in an estimated one out of every 20 homes in the United States, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Fans cite the warm, familiar feeling of mass-produced works of art while it has become fashionable for art critics to dismiss his pieces.

    Kinkade lived with his wife and was the father of four girls, NBCBayArea.com reported.

    "Thomas Kinkade, the celebrated 'Painter of Light' is one of the most widely collected and beloved artists of our day," Kinkade's website states. "Each year millions of people are drawn to the luminous light and tranquil mood of Kinkade's paintings and include his creations in their lives through prints, books, and other fine collectibles."

    The University of California Berkeley graduate had a strong faith in God, which served as the foundation for his artwork.

    "I try to create paintings that are a window for the imagination," Kinkade said on his website. "If people look at my work and are reminded of the way things once were or perhaps the way they could be, then I've done my job."

    Kinkade's Media Arts Group took in $32 million per quarter from 4,500 dealers across the country 10 years ago, before going private in the middle of last decade, the Mercury News reported. Paintings are priced hundreds of dollars to more than $10,000.

    His website also offers prints, mugs, nightlights and other home-decor items adorned with his paintings, which feature bridges, churches, cottages, Disney scenes, gazebos estates and the outdoors.

    On Friday, the Mercury News reported that Kinkade's family was traveling to Australia and unavailable for further comment.

    Bennett Raglin / WireImage

    Artist Thomas Kinkade paints the 2007 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Nov. 30, 2007, in New York City.

    In 2010, his production arm, Pacific Metro of Morgan Hill, Calif., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a day after a $1 million payment was due to former Kinkade gallery owners who won a judgment after claiming Kinkade used his Christian faith as a tool to fraudulently induce them to invest in his galleries, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. From 1997 through May 2005, as galleries failed, Kinkade reaped more than $50 million from his prints and licensed product lines, according to testimony in the case cited by the Times.

    In 2006, the Times reported that former Kinkade dealers told the newspaper that the FBI was looking into allegations that Kinkade and his top executives fraudulently induced investors to open galleries and then ruined them financially. The company, in a Sept. 1, 2006, statement called the allegations a "smear campaign."

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