Legacy of famous Northern California artist Thomas Kinkade to live on in Placerville

(FOX40.COM) — The Thomas Kinkade Hometown Gallery in Placerville is in its final days of operation, but the foothill native’s legacy will remain in El Dorado County.

Kinkade was born in Sacramento in January 1958 and spent most of his life in Placerville, where he graduated from El Dorado High School in 1976.

His artwork became well-known across the United States to the point where one in every 20 Americans has owned or still owns a Kinkade painting, according to the Kinkade Company.

The Placerville gallery is one of three Kinkade galleries, with the others located in Monterey and Carmel.

The gallery’s final day will be Saturday, but before closing shop, the gallery donated a significant Kinkade painting to an El Dorado County museum.

Kinkade’s last-ever painting, ‘Eternal Springtime,’ was donated to the El Dorado Gold 1848 Museum as part of its Thomas Kinkade exhibit.

The museum is located in a previously county-owned building in Placerville at 515 Main Street.

El Dorado Gold 1848 also serves as a research center for Placerville history, provided by the Marilyn Ferguson collection, which was donated by Ferguson’s family following her death in 2022.

The research center includes primary source documents, maps, letters, photographs, architectural plans and objects.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40.