In 2010, Tim Dolan, then Vice-Principal (Advancement) at the University of Sydney, received an impromptu visit from an anonymous woman bearing an unusual package. Inside the plastic bag was not just any painting, it was Jeune Fille Endormie, a 1935 portrait by Pablo Picasso of his muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter. Rarely seen in public, the painting had been held privately for decades. The donor, an American woman from Texas, had brought it to Sydney with one simple but profound instruction: sell it, and use the proceeds to change lives.
That act of generosity set off a chain reaction that would impact generations of researchers and patients alike. The painting fetched $20.7 million at auction at Christie’s in London - an extraordinary sum that provided the kickstart for the Charles Perkins Centre and its vision of a multidisciplinary approach to tackling chronic disease.
Jeune Fille Endormie had not been publicly seen since a retrospective exhibition of Picasso’s works in New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1939, making its auction a major event in the art world. Christie’s described it as “an intimate insight into the passion that Picasso held for Marie-Thèrése, and also serves as a beacon for the rejuvenating and revitalising effect that she had on his life, his art, and indeed his career.”
The painting’s history was well documented, with photos showing it in Picasso’s own studio, helping to confirm that it was genuine and part of the artist’s personal collection. With its authenticity fully documented, the painting stood out not only as a masterpiece of modern art but as a profoundly personal expression of the artist’s affection.
An unusual journey to Sydney
The story behind the gift is as remarkable as the painting itself.
As Professor Steve Simpson, Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre, recalls, “This lady came in, put down a black bin liner on [Tim’s] desk and said, ‘I want you to sell this. It will change many lives.’”
“Tim, who didn't expect anything in particular, unwrapped it and it was an amateur painting of a horse. He said, ‘Oh, that's very kind thank you’. And she said, ‘Oh, no, no,’ and peeled off that painting and underneath was an original Picasso of a young woman sleeping. A painting of Marie-Thérèse Walter, who was his muse.”
The woman’s connection to the University was tenuous but heartfelt: decades earlier, the University had offered a position to her husband, a young academic psychologist, which he ultimately declined. That simple gesture of opportunity had stayed with her, inspiring her to act.
Along with the Picasso, the woman donated jewellery, valuable coins, and Australian bonds. Her only conditions were that everything be sold to support scientific and medical research, and that her identity remain anonymous.
Professor Simpson’s own connection to the painting was both fortuitous and deeply personal. He was initially asked to speak at the University’s Challis luncheon about his research. His talk left such an impression on then-Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence that months later, Simpson was invited to accompany him to London to help oversee the painting’s sale.
The funds continue to drive transformative work at the Charles Perkins Centre, an institution devoted to tackling the most pressing health challenges of our time—obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and related conditions. The Centre’s interdisciplinary model brings together scientists, clinicians, engineers, economists and policy experts to explore solutions that extend beyond medicine and into society itself.
Though she remains anonymous, the impact driven by the woman who brought the Picasso to the university that fateful day, is anything but invisible. Her choice to gift the painting to an institution on the other side of the world was not only unconventional, it was visionary. It reflected a deeply personal commitment to supporting research, art, and education in a way that would ripple far beyond her lifetime.
In many ways, Jeune Fille Endormie was not only a valuable painting, it became a symbol of how kindness, art, and science can intertwine to change the course of lives. It’s a legacy that continues to inspire.
As Professor Simpson reflects, “It was an act of kindness that ultimately did end up doing what she requested - to change many lives.”
Image of Jeune Fille Endormie (Picasso, 1935) courtesy of Christie's.
Professor Steve Simpson accompanied the Picasso to London to oversee its sale. The funds raised continue to support the Charles Perkins Centre.
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