A portrait of former U.S. President Bill Clinton wearing a blue dress, painted by artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid, gained international notoriety after being discovered in the home of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While the painting, titled Parsing Bill (2012), became a focal point of public scrutiny following the release of court documents known as the “Epstein files,” the artist’s career began decades earlier with a modest $150 sale in 1987 on Australia’s Gold Coast.
The Origins of a Career: From Gold Coast to New York
Before achieving global visibility through the controversial acquisition by Epstein, Petrina Ryan-Kleid was a 16-year-old student. According to Ryan-Kleid, she sold her first painting—a portrait of a man in a suit—to a local woman named Terri Lew in 1987. Ryan-Kleid noted that the $150 sale provided the financial and emotional momentum to pursue professional art, eventually leading her to New York to earn a Master of Fine Arts.
The trajectory of Ryan-Kleid’s work shifted toward political satire in the following decades. She produced portraits of former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush before completing Parsing Bill in 2012. The painting was subsequently exhibited at the Tribeca Ball in New York before being purchased by Epstein.
Did you know?
Terri Lew, the buyer of Ryan-Kleid’s first painting, kept the artwork in the packing room of her Mermaid Beach gallery for nearly 40 years, often wondering about the artist’s path after the sale.
The Intersection of Art and Infamy
The public interest in Parsing Bill intensified significantly following Epstein’s death in 2019 and the subsequent 2025 release of further court files. The painting, which depicts the former president in a blue dress—a reference to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal—became an object of intense media curiosity.
The connection between the artist and her original collector was only restored recently. After a social media post and a radio interview on ABC Gold Coast, friends of Ryan-Kleid alerted her that her first-ever sale was still in the possession of the original buyer. Ryan-Kleid and Lew reconnected over a phone interview with presenter Bern Young, closing a gap of nearly four decades.
Future Trends in Provenance and Digital Verification
Frequently Asked Questions
Who painted the portrait of Bill Clinton found in Jeffrey Epstein’s home?
The painting, titled Parsing Bill (2012), was created by artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid.
How did the artist and her first collector reunite?
After nearly 40 years, a social media campaign and a radio interview on ABC Gold Coast helped facilitate a reunion between the artist, Petrina Ryan-Kleid, and the collector, Terri Lew.
Where is the painting now?
The painting gained notoriety after being discovered in Jeffrey Epstein’s residence; it has remained a subject of public interest following the release of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice.
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