What is the deal with the painting "hands resist him"?

Question

is it actually cursed or just a really good marketing ploy on behalf of the artist?

Answer 1

It's an eBay thing. Read further...
In February, 2000 the sudden appearance of a rather strange painting with the accompanying title of "Haunted Painting" made it's debut on Ebay.com. Of course a title like this is going to attract attention and it's still discussed to this day whether the painting is genuinely haunted or not. Even stranger is the reactions that the general public had when viewing the photos of the painting.

The artist is Bill Stoneham, the painting title is "Hands Resist Him".
You can visit his website at Stoneham Studios.
Bill tells of how he painted Hands Resist Him in 1972, the boy in the picture being himself, the hands being other lives, the windows/door being a thin veil between waking and dreaming with the small doll like girl being the guide through.

Bill does not know how his painting ended up abandoned as described by the Ebay.com seller, but he does know a gallery owner where the painting was originally displayed and sold at, and a Los Angeles Times critic, who reviewed the show, were both dead within one year of the painting being shown.