Artist behind Clinton portrait in Epstein files remembers first piece

An oil on canvas portrait of former US president Bill Clinton lounging in a blue dress may be regarded as the pinnacle of Petrina Ryan-Kleid's artistic career.

Hung prominently in the home of disgraced financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the portrait was thrown into the spotlight following Epstein's death in 2019, and again in 2025 when some of the Epstein files were made public.

However, a decade before the infamous Clinton-Lewinsky affair scandal broke and inspired the piece, the young artist behind it was cutting her teeth on the Gold Coast.

"It was right at the end of 1987. I'd been chosen to put my painting, [another work], up, and the art teacher told me somebody was interested in buying my work," Ryan-Kleid said.

At just 16 years old, the year 12 student sold her first piece, a portrait of a man in a suit sitting on a grassy curb, for $150.

"It was a tough time at home, and the [sale] just gave me a huge boost," she said.

"That support made the dream of becoming an artist feel a little more real."

The gift of confidence

Raised by a single father, the sale "lit the flame" for the burgeoning artist.

"After that, my dad took me to every art exhibition he could find. It became such a happy time for us," Ryan-Kleid said.

"He framed the cheque. He was so proud … I don't think he ever cashed it."

Unknowingly, the buyer, Terri Lew, was lighting a flame of her own.

The Gold Coast mother of two would spend nearly the next four decades collecting art from across the world to display in her Mermaid Beach gallery.

"It was the first piece I ever collected. We were broke but I couldn't walk away," she said.

"The painting spoke to me … if you've seen the Mona Lisa in real life, her eyes follow you. That is what this does to me."

But a question bugged the art collector, who has kept the piece hanging in the packing room of her gallery for 39 years, as a reminder of where her extensive collection began.

Who was the artist behind the piece?

A social media post and radio interview calling for support to find her helped the pieces fall into place.

Reunited after decades of wondering

After high school, Ryan-Kleid travelled to New York to attend art school, where she completed a Master of Fine Arts.

She painted satirical portraits of former US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, as well as the piece Parsing Bill in 2012, which was exhibited before being sold to Epstein.

Curiosity about the piece that started it all simmered for a long time, until family and friends shared a social media post calling for the person behind a distinct artwork to come forward.

"I had friends who just knew it was me … I had a look and went, 'Wow, that's the painting,'" Ryan-Kleid said.

Separated by thousands of kilometres and many time zones — Ms Lew lived on the Gold Coast and Ryan-Kleid in New York — the pair resolved to reunite over a phone call.

"My dad was so proud. He passed away last year, which is one of the reasons this meant so much to me, Terri's kindness," Ryan-Kleid said.

"Looking back, I don't think Terri just bought a painting. She gave a young artist confidence at exactly the right moment."

For Ms Lew, the sense of having helped an artist to nurture their talent was overwhelming.

"I'm just speechless, it's beautiful … any hardship to establish the gallery, I feel quite proud, it wasn't wasted on me," Ms Lew said.