Evening star., 1909-07-01
PAINTS FOR DEAD MAN
Goldsmith Says Artist Gif-
ford's Spirit Directs Him.
TALENT CAME SUDDENLY
Inspired to Garry on Work of Man
He Hardly Knew.
SAYS HE HEARS STRANGE VOICE
Strains of Weird Music. Too. Come
to Him as He Visits Scenes
Familiar to Artist.
TALENT CAME SUDDENLY
SAYS HE HEARS STRANGE VOICE

NEW YORK. July lin a long report
published in the current number Of the
journal of the American Society for Psy
chcal Research Prof. James H. Hysop.
president of the society, gives an account
of the obsession of Frederic l.. Thompson.
goldsmith, by the spirit of Rober;
Swain Clifford an artist. Mr.. Thompson
has been obliged to give up his own
trade and devote himself to painting the
same scenes as the dead artist, and on
different occasions has heard words which
seemed 10 proceed from the artists spirit
and the music it loved, though no one
was near to produce 1t.
According 10 Prof. Hysop Mr.. Thomp-
sons acquaintance with Mr.. Clifford was
only slight, and he knew practically moth
ing of art outside of his own trade. He
did not even know a the time the desire
to paint first seized him that Mr.. Clifford
was dead. Some years ago he met the
artist on the marshes about New Bed
ford, Mass, and talked to him for little
time. and once he saw him painting IN
the distance Once also in New York he
called on the painter in the course of
business and showed him some jewelry.
Showed Unexpected Skill.
In the sumner Of 1905 Mr. Thompson
was first seized with the desire TO paint
in oils. AS he gave way to the impulse
he lost his interest in his own line of
work and showed unexpected skill as an
artist. AS he worked he felt that he was
Mr.. Clifford, and remarked to his wife:
Clifford wants to sketch" But it was not
till six months later. as he saw the no
tice of an exhibition in the American Art
Galleries of the work of 'the late Robert
A.. =,
the artist had died about six months be-
fore he first felt driven to the brush.
AS Mr.. Thompson went through the Gift
ford exhibition he seemed to hear, ac-
cording to Prof Hyslop, a voice saying:
You see what | have done. Can YOU
not take up and finish my work. From
this time on the impulse to paint was
stronger than ever. and by the following
year he had produced several paintings
of sufficient merit to command fair
price. One of his patrons was James B.
Townsend, who remarked as he examined
the picture that it resembled those of
Mr.. Clifford.
Mr.. Thompson came to Prof HysIop in
January. 1907, as he feared that his mind
was giving way through the strength of
the obsession. and Prof. Hyslop gives de-
tails of his visits to mediums. who. had
no idea who lie was. In the following
summer he handed to Prof. Hyslop some
sketches which he had made in the sum-
them up.
Then Mr.. Thompson went to the sum-
mer home of Mr.. Clifford, at Nonauitt.
Mass, which he said he had never Wis
tied before. His object was to discover
certain scenes which had appeared to
him repeatedly in his visions While he
was there Mrs. Clifford took him into the
studio of the dead artist.
A Weird Experience.
4.
"he saw on the easel an unfinished sketch
which was absolutely identical with one
of the sketches which he had left in my
hands more than month before. He
said in his diary it almost took his breath
away to see the identity between this
painting and his visions and sketches
There were two other pictures on easels
which were Identical with sketches he
had made, but had not been left with
me-"
Mrs Clifford bore witness that to make
this coincidence the more striking the pic
ture had been rolled up and put away
till after Mr.. Gifford's death. so that Mr.
Thompson had no opportunity to see it.
and that it was six months after Mr..
Giffords death before the impulse seized
him to try to paint 1t.
Mr.. Thompson pursued his search for
the places he saw in his Visions and dis
covered that Mr.. Clifford had been particu-
larly fond of an island which Is private
property and only visited after permit
has been obtained. On this island Mr.
Thompson came across a peculiar group
of trees which had become familiar to
him through his visions.
''He stumbled upon them,'' writes Prof
Hyslop. sin his wanderings about this is
land and started to sketch them, when he
heard a voice similar to the one he had
heard at the art gallery. and which said
Go and look on the other side of the
tree Though some sixty feet away he
went forward. and on the opposite side of
the tree he found the initials of Mr.. Gift
ford carved in the bark of beech tree in
1902"
Other cases of identity between sketches
made after his visions and the actual
scenes he found are mentioned by Prof
Hyslop. There was of a forest
her dense which Mr.. Thompson sketch
ed from a hallucination and then found
the original on another easel. though he
did not recognize it at the time, having
forgotten that he had sketched 1t. There
were also two sketches of seashore and
a man with an OK team, and on still an
other easel in Mr.. Gifford's studio was
painting of MIR. Gifford's representing the
same scenes.