Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist recognized for his experimental use of colors and Synthetist style that were distinguishably different from Impressionism. His work was influential to the French avant-garde and many modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Gauguin was also friends with Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor and writer. His bold experimentation with coloring led directly to the style of modern art, while his expression of the inherent meaning of the subjects in his paintings, under the influence of the cloisonnist style, paved the way to Primitivism and the return to the pastoral. This article presents convincing evidence of Paul Gauguin’s reincarnation as the artist Peter Teekamp (died 2019) whose art can be enjoyed at at www.muralsbypeter.com (archived).
1. An Introduction of the Artist Peter Teekamp
Peter Teekamp was an artist and near-death experiencer living in Washington state who accidentally discovered a drawing that might be worth millions of dollars. He believes the drawing to be an original artwork by the famous 19th century post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin (see www.paul-gauguin.net). Teekamp discovered the drawing hanging on the wall of a restaurant which he visited by pure chance. Coincidentally, Teekamp happened to be writing a book about Gauguin at the time. Having studied Gauguin for many years, Teekamp knew a Gauguin when he saw one. Eventually he bought the drawing from its owner for $5,000. After further examination and an ugly court battle with its previous owner, Teekamp gathered evidence to support the claim that it is indeed an original Gauguin. Forensic experts are needed to prove the age of the drawing and examine the evidence.
The paranormal aspect to this discovery is not just the remarkable coincidences surrounding the drawing’s discovery; but also the multitude of remarkable coincidences Teekamp has experienced throughout his life concerning Gauguin. These coincidences (i.e., synchronicity) are so strong and compelling that Teekamp believes he may be the reincarnation of Gauguin. Gauguin himself was also a believer in reincarnation. An analysis of the similarities between Paul Gaugin and Peter Teekamp and their wives is quite remarkable.
Many times in Teekamp’s life, unusual events would occur which would reinforce his connection with Gauguin. For example, many times a book would fall open right to a page about Gauguin. Total strangers would walk up to Teekamp to tell him about his resemblance to Gauguin. But it wasn’t until someone actually told him that he is the reincarnation of Gauguin that Teekamp began to seriously study Gauguin’s life and art in a way no one ever had. It was then that he discovered some amazing parallels between himself and Gauguin. One of the discoveries is a hidden “signature” within the artworks of Paul Gauguin which had never been known before. The remarkable thing about it is that Teekamp had been doing the same thing with the same letters in his own artworks years before he discovered that Gauguin did the same. Both artists would hide an identical signature within their artwork. But this is only one of the pieces to the puzzle. Here are the others:
2. Paul Gauguin and Peter Teekamp
Comparing the Lives of Paul Gauguin and Peter Teekamp
a. Boarding Schools: Both artists spent their early life away from home in boarding schools.
b. Spirituality: Both artists put on canvas their visionary effects.
c. Brush stroke style: Both artists were known for their use of short brush strokes and brilliant flat colors
d. World traveler: Both artists traveled and immigrated extensively to foreign lands.
e. Lived in St. Cloud: Paul Gauguin moved to St. Cloud, France, and Peter Teekamp moved to St. Cloud, USA. Both artists began to paint seriously from there.
f. Hidden signature: Both artists would hide their signature in their artworks.
g. Successful businessmen: Both artists were successful in business ventures.
h. Full-time artists: After a period of duality as a businessman and artist, both artists eventually made a break to total dedication as an artist.
i. Portrait style: Both artists painted portraits not just with the physical likeness, but with the dream of the subject in mind as in Gauguin’s “Portrait of Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers in Arles” and Teekamp’s “Portrait of Angela Teekamp,” also known as “My Lady.”
j. Construction style: Both artists used linear construction in their artwork, leading to a central point.
k. Line style: Both artists used sharp lines in the nose structure of most of their self portraits and some of their hidden profile images.
l. Affinity for native culture: Both artists felt a strong connection with the Indian Spirit.
m. Visionary: Both artists were considered to be “ahead of his time.”
n. Art education: Both artists did not receive a higher education in the field of art.
o. Facial features: Both artists had an angular face, prominent nose, eyebrows, and high cheekbones.
3. Assessing the Art of Peter Teekamp
Peter Teekamp is a self-taught artist and for 30 years has enjoyed painting visions, symbols and ideas that translate feelings about the wonders and mysteries of life. When he paints people he does not paint them as you and I see them in their daily life but in what he sees as their “spiritual essence.”
In assessing the art of the artist, Peter Teekamp, it’s important to describe some of the early experiences that helped to create his views on art, life, afterlife, and religion.
It is well documented that in the majority of cases where people have had near-death experiences their entire life takes on dramatic changes. Their philosophies regarding religion, God and the purpose of life can be seen by many as in total contrast to their beliefs prior to their experience. This is the case when near-death experiences happen closer to adulthood and their beliefs can be compared and analyzed. However, as in the case of artist Peter Teekamp, his experience was as an infant before any such belief system was in place or could be studied. As an adult, Peter does not classify himself into any one theology but respects all world religions.
What follows is now is an artist’s conception of another side of life. Perhaps an artist’s inspiration to paint the childhood memory of an eyewitness account of heaven, spirits and angels. We hope you enjoy the view!
4. Peter Teekamp’s Near-Death Experience
“My first early life memory is looking down from above and seeing myself as a baby, floating about one foot below the surface of the water. I’m in a blue wool outfit and I can see myself just floating there. After a few moments I hear a scream as my sister calls for our mother. The next sensation I feel is that of being pulled out of the water. I remember being dried off by my mother and everything looked very normal as if nothing had happened. In my opinion, I saw my physical form drown while my spirit was looking down.
“Perhaps that’s why I understand clearly, that we are spirits with a body. You carry your body just for awhile in that form and you will get many forms along your journey. I will go so far as to say that’s what I’ve painted for 25 years. (See countless examples in my paintings). I can’t forget that when I was a child, my interests were always life after death, reincarnation, UFOs, etc., while my friends would play outside. It felt like I knew something they didn’t and that I should keep it to myself. Death to me was a celebration, the most significant event any human can experience, with no fear but with excitement that it will go on forever, life after life, a never ending cycle. I feel my childhood experience reflects my belief system and/or was created by it!”
5. A Summary of Peter Teekamp’s Book “Pass It On, Art HIStory”
Secrets from the Past, Revelations of the Future
Whatever your belief (or non-belief) regarding life after death, and whichever term you apply: reincarnation, life after life, everlasting life, “Pass It On” is a story of two artists from two different centuries with striking parallels, amazing coincidences, and humorous ironies linking them together. The story has all the attributes of a great fiction classic, but it’s a true story and even the authors can’t claim creative rights over it. Technically, history already wrote this story, the authors are simply passing it on.
Along with the series of parallels linking the two artists together after more than 100 years, Peter Teekamp claims to have come face to face with evidence that gives him an understanding into Gauguin’s art that no one has ever written about. The evidence stems from a series of coincidences that also led Peter to a discovery within Gauguin’s artworks.
Paul Gauguin once wrote, “Perhaps one day, after my art has opened everybody’s eyes, some enthusiastic soul will rescue me from the gutter.” Peter Teekamp knows that he himself is that “enthusiastic soul” Gauguin referred to. Teekamp claims a unique insight into the mysterious world and hidden meanings of the art and life of the famous and controversial French artist.
Teekamp believes Gauguin was misunderstood and remained an enigma throughout his life and even in death. Gauguin continues to be a mystery as books with various views on his art continue to be published. There are more than 160 titles written about him, but his philosophies and art are being interpreted and presented by Teekamp in a way never before considered.
A lifetime of recurring themes of coincidence connecting him to Gauguin, from the simple occurrence of a book falling open to pages about the artist (not just once, but too many times to write off as mere coincidence), to strangers walking up to him and announcing his connection to Gauguin, there was one final event that caused Teekamp to study the French artist in a way no one ever had. The serious study began years into Teekamp’s own art career when he was actually accused of being the spirit of Paul Gauguin reincarnated. This was a claim he was not sure he wished to believe but even more difficult for him to ignore.
For numerous reasons this caused Teekamp great distress. At that time the little knowledge he had of Gauguin was not necessarily positive. In fact, Gauguin was regarded with contempt by some for leaving his wife and family behind in search of his artists’ paradise of primitive man and unspoiled nature. (This is certainly not the only version. It is said that Mette Gauguin fully supported her husband and understood his need to explore a different environment to fulfill his creative passions. It was Gauguin’s hope to be successful and it was Mrs. Gauguin’s hope and intention to promote and sell the works he sent home.)
Now, with a bombardment of coincidence, Teekamp was no longer able to pass off this mystery as simple irony. He had to find out what the connections and parallels to Gauguin were telling him. He knew there was something there that needed further study. He began to look closer at Gauguin’s life and art and found some amazing parallels and a startling discovery. The discovery refers to a hidden secret within the artworks of Paul Gauguin that has not been exposed in more than 100 years – a secret clearly revealed to Peter Teekamp and found in his own artworks years before the parallels were ever researched. This is just one of the pieces to a puzzle, more events concerning the clues that led to Peter’s discovery fall into place years after this information was assembled.
Gauguin claimed an understanding of his past lives and believed in reincarnation. Teekamp’s near-fatal birth and first-life memory of a near-death drowning are facts that he suggests made him keenly aware at an early age that we are Spirits first. Teekamp’s belief in reincarnation also caused him to study and delve into past life regression therapy. This research brought even more information to the surface about Gauguin, a man that some called the “Father of Modern Art.”
Gauguin often reflected on a close connection with the “Indian in himself” as he put it. In the artworks of Teekamp, the Indian Spirit has always been a theme that intensely interested him for reasons he was never able to explain. Numerous paintings with the subject of the Indian Spirit fill his walls.
In the artworks of Teekamp as far back as 1969, a unique “signature” was placed in his work and he enjoyed its discovery by friends. In the artworks of Gauguin, he hid the identical “signature” and letters quoting Gauguin himself point to their ultimate discovery. This discovery has little mention in all the titles written. Teekamp believes he was meant to share that aspect of the late artist’s work and give him the closer look Gauguin always felt his work deserved.
In 1997, after keeping the information private for nearly twenty years, Teekamp decided he should share what he called the “good news” about Paul Gauguin. He and his partner, co-author Michelle Moshay, prepared the first manuscript in January of 1998. That month, coincidentally again, a luxury cruise liner was launched and christened the M/S Paul Gauguin and set sail to Gauguin’s beloved Tahiti and the South Seas where the artist lived and died. The final chapter of “Pass It On” was to be a return to Tahiti and the sudden emergence of Gauguin’s namesake ship seemed meant-to-be for Teekamp’s announcement. The pair began working on a lecture and slide presentation outlining the hidden secrets and philosophies within Gauguin’s art, wanting to share it aboard the M/S Paul Gauguin, meanwhile seeking a publisher for the manuscript.
From the South Seas, Paul Gaguin once wrote:
“For the majority, I shall always remain an enigma, I realize people will understand me less and less … No matter what happens, I assure you that I shall achieve things of the first order. I can feel it and we shall see.”
The information and samples of Gauguin’s work, the list of parallels and coincidences within “Pass It On, Art HIStory” give a new recognition to what Teekamp and Moshay feel was a misunderstood artist with a secret message. The message is one of hope, enlightenment and inspiration for every living soul to study the clues around them and discover their own true destiny. It’s information that will rewrite the history books concerning the art and life of Paul Gauguin and finally, 100 years later, give him the recognition and fame he strongly believed would be his.
6. Peter Teekamp Discovers an Authentic Gauguin?
The following is the news article that appeared in a Bremerton, Washington, newspaper concerning Peter Teekamp’s discovery of a sketch which may possibly be an authentic Gauguin.
A Gauguin in Kitsap?
The Sketch
“Maybe this is a fantastic plan lined up,” Teekamp later said.
As a student, author and, he claims, a reincarnation of Gauguin, he knew what he saw. At worst, it was a reproduction of Gauguin’s work. At best, it was an original sketch possibly worth millions and a valuable addition to the art world.
Then, restaurant owner Melvin Sablan and a sketch told a story that put the drawing closer to at best.
The sketch apparently took a long journey. During World War II, the Chamorro — the native people of Guam — were run out of their country by Japanese troops. They, including Sablan’s great-grandmother, retreated into caves.
She rolled up the sketch, a gift, during the ordeal. After the war, she tucked it away in her attic for 33 years.
In 1978, she gave it to her daughter, Sablan’s mother, who kept it in her attic for nearly 25 years until Sablan gained possession of it. He brought it to America in 1999, and, unwitting of its possible identity, hung it in his Bremerton restaurant.
The Legal Battle
Seven days later, after Sablan researched it on the Internet and was shown books about Gauguin by Teekamp, the artist bought the sketch for $5,000.
He and Sablan hand-wrote a deal that stipulated Teekamp would keep it, and, if he found it was worth anything, would split the proceeds 50/50 with Sablan, minus the $5,000 and Teekamp’s expenses.
Moshay took pictures of the two looking at a book, smiling in front of the sketch and shaking hands. Soon after, the legal battle began and the friendship dissolved.
Sablan and his lawyers filed a lawsuit contending Teekamp coerced him into signing the deal and that the agreement was for Teekamp to borrow it and help him sell it.
The sketch went into court custody. Though a judge twice ordered that Sablan pay a $5,000 bond for the piece, he failed to do so. Eventually, Teekamp and Moshay were granted temporary custody of the art.
They filed to have the case dropped to avoid appeals and for $50,000 in compensatory damages because of lost work and delayed publication of their book. Weeks before a judge was to decide the sketch’s fate, Teekamp sat in a chair in his North Bend studio, surrounded by his paintings, and said, philosophically, that ownership doesn’t matter to him.
“When you dig in your garden, do you own the flowers?” he asked.
But in the U.S. legal system, ownership does matter. Moshay said legal ownership is needed to authenticate the sketch.
She and Teekamp have been thorough in their dealings, taking pictures, documenting meetings, recording conversations and making transcripts.
“I think we’ve got a pretty strong case,” she said.
But on Friday, a judge dismissed the case without prejudice, a twist that allows Sablan and his lawyers to file a lawsuit should they choose to do so. Ali Nakkour, who represented Sablan, told the judge that they likely would. He refused to comment to The Sun, and referred questions to Sablan’s other attorney. He did not return a call Friday evening.
Teekamp admitted the legal battle, despite its hardships, is a great ending to his first book, or a beginning to his next.
“It’s a wonderful story with a bittersweet ending,” he said. “Although we’re very hurt, Peter will still honor what he wrote down,” Moshay said Friday.
Meanwhile, the painting’s authenticity remains unknown.
“Right now, I don’t want to know what it is,” Teekamp said.
