Official Trailer for Doc ‘Art for Everybody’ Examining Thomas Kinkade

Official Trailer for Doc ‘Art for Everybody’ Examining Thomas Kinkade

by Alex Billington
March 7, 2025
Source: YouTube

“Kinkade was a performance artist… and he created the greatest performance art piece in our lifetime.” Fourth Act has revealed the trailer for an indie documentary titled Art for Everybody, an fascinating art doc about a notable US artist. This first premiered back in 2023 at the SXSW Film Festival and at DOC NYC and other fests that year. You’ve seen his cozy cottages, idyllic gardens, and welcoming village streets… Both celebrated and disparaged for his kitschy signature settings, the once extremely successful “Painter of Light” named Thomas Kinkade rocketed to popularity in the ’90s by marketing himself to American evangelicals and pitting himself against the elite art establishment. Yet beneath the pristine public persona were demons that would drive him to alcoholism, scandal, and death from an overdose back in 2012. After his passing, Kinkade’s daughters uncovered a trove of unseen, unexpectedly gloomy paintings, a discovery that launched an investigation into their father’s true personality. Kinkade’s pastoral landscapes made him the most collected and despised painter of all time. This film reveals a elaborate artist whose life and work embody our divided America. Fascinating… Oh I definitely want to see all of these “dark” paintings – I will be watching this doc.

Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Miranda Yousef’s doc Art for Everybody, direct from YouTube:

Intro via SXSW: “Thomas Kinkade, the most successful artist of his time, was beloved and despised for his paintings of cozy cottages. He rose to fame in the ‘90s, marketing himself to evangelicals, and against the art establishment. Yet beneath his pristine image were demons that would drive him to alcoholism, scandal, and death from an overdose in 2012. After his passing, Kinkade’s daughters uncovered a trove of unseen, dark paintings, launching a search for [his actual personality] and [the real] artist behind the brand. Through skeptical critics, adoring fans, Kinkade’s friends & family, Art For Everybody uncovers the real Thomas Kinkade, a complex man divided by the same forces that continue to pull us all apart.” 🎨

Art for Everybody is directed by indie writer / filmmaker Miranda Yousef, making her feature directorial debut with this doc project after one other low film previously and other industry work. It’s produced by Morgan Neville & Tim Rummel. This initially premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival a few years ago. Fourth Act Film will release Yousef’s doc Art for Everybody in select US theaters (DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema in NYC) starting on March 28th, 2025 this spring. For more info, visit the film’s official site. Intrigued?

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