As it turns out, there was one more objectively bizarre item used for decorative purposes in the late, not-so-great Jeffrey Epstein's mansion of horrors: this subversive painting of Bill Clinton.
One past visitor to Epstein's townhouse shared a photo of the portrait spotted through an open door with The Daily Mail, while another source told the New York Post, "It was hanging up there prominently — as soon as you walked in — in a room to the right. Everybody who saw it laughed and smirked."
The oil-on-canvas piece is a work by Australian-American artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid, who presented it at the star-studded Tribeca Ball in 2012, while she was an MFA student at the New York Academy of Art. The event honored Robert De Niro, and was attended by the likes of Solange Knowles, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Naomi Watts.
[Petrina Ryan-Kleid at the 2012 Tribeca Ball]
Though it's unclear whether Epstein had acquired the original painting from the event, sources have confirmed that his was indeed an oil work, rather than a print. (In case you're so sadistically inclined, you can buy a mini version of the piece for just $40.)
The painting's actual title is "Parsing Bill," and it depicts the former President, a friend of both Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, lounging in a blue dress and red heels inside the Oval Office, his finger pointing at the viewer à la Uncle Sam in those old ARMY posters. The outfit looks eerily similar to one worn by Hillary Clinton at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors, where, coincidentally, Robert De Niro had also been an honoree (conspiracy theorists, stop right there!). Another theory (which we Instagrammed back in 2012) suggests that the ensemble is a nod to the infamous "blue dress" belonging to Monica Lewinsky; the one she submitted to the FBI to confirm the presence of, erm, certain traces of DNA belonging to Clinton.
While it's certainly a strange piece to display, especially in homage to an apparent friend, the painting was hardly the worst thing hidden in Epstein's home. Like, by a long shot. But still, it's very curious indeed.
View this post on InstagramPortrait of Bill Clinton with Monica's body by Petrina Ryan-Kleid at TriBeCa Ball
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