California artist beloved by middlebrow America for sentimental scenes has died at home of natural causes, spokesman says Thomas Kinkade, whose paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches were big sellers for dealers across the US, has died aged 54. Kinkade died at his home in Los Gatos in the San Francisco Bay area of what appeared to be natural causes, according to a family spokesman, David Satterfield. Kinkade’s sentimental paintings, with their scenes of cottages, country gardens and churches in dewy morning light, were beloved by middlebrow America but reviled by the art establishment. The paintings generally depict tranquil scenes with lush landscapes and streams running nearby

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