Harry Styles buys ‘masterpiece’ portrait of himself from Joe Lycett for £6 despite fans claiming the painting looks ‘more like Alan Carr’

Harry Styles has purchased a ‘masterpiece’ portrait of himself from comedian and artist Joe Lycett for £6.

The Watermelon Sugar hitmaker, 29, got in touch after the TV host, 35, unveiled a spoof version he had created of David Hockney’s painting of the singer for his collection at the National Portrait Gallery. 

Despite fans claiming the artwork looked ‘more like Alan Carr’ Harry was desperate to hang it in his home. 

The pair haggled back and forth in the screenshots shared by Joe, before the comedian eventually agreed to part with the ‘masterpiece’.

In the messages Harry wrote: ‘I think it’s incredible important that I purchase this portrait from you. If you’d ever consider parting with this masterpiece I’d like to hang it in my home immediately’.

Art fan: Harry Styles has purchased a ‘masterpiece’ portrait of himself from comedian come artist Joe Lycett for £6

Immortalised in paint: The Watermelon Sugar hitmaker, 29, got in touch after the TV host, 35, unveiled a spoof version he had created of David Hockney’s painting of the singer for his collection at the National Portrait Gallery 

Joe responded: ‘I’ll give it to you for £8′ before Harry offered £6.

‘£6.50 final offer,’ the comedian joked before sweetening the deal: ‘Or £6 and a KitKat chunky peanut butter.’

The Harry’s House hitmaker was quick to point out the arrangement was  shortchanging the funnyman as KitKats are ‘not 50p’ but accepted the offer nevertheless. 

Captioning the post: ‘Long story short I just organised a £6 BACS transfer with Harry Styles’. 

Joe originally unveiled the painting with a photoshopped snap from Harry’s visit to David Hockney’s studio in Normandy.

Writing: ‘A few months ago I was contacted by management for Harry Styles asking whether I would consider doing his portrait,’. 

‘I didn’t really know of his celebrity at the time so I said yes but I wish I hadn’t cause the whole thing has been a disaster’.

‘He came to my holiday home in padstow and sat for two days but I only spent about 20 minutes on the picture in the end cause I had an issue with my russell hobbs fridge/freezer and so I had to defrost it and I realised there was some diced goat going off so I made massaman curry’. 

Masterpiece: Despite fans claiming the artwork looked ‘more like Alan Carr’ Harry was desperate to hang it in his home

Haggle: The pair haggled back and forth in the screenshots shared by Joe, before the comedian eventually agreed to part with the ‘masterpiece’

Double take: Fans claimed the painting struck more of a resemblance to comedian Alan Carr  (R) 

Unsure: Joe’s followers were quick to pass judgement on the art work 

He continued: ‘Anyway I thought I’d done a good job of the pic but his management were quite cross and one of them said “it’s Harry Styles not Jeremy Beadle’s face on a f****** egg” and Harry just awkwardly kept saying it was an honour to meet me whilst not eating his curry,’. 

‘They didn’t take the painting so I spoke to the National Portrait Gallery on the phone and they said they don’t take unsolicited submissions and it was hard to make a judgement on a call,’ 

‘So I went in in person and the girl on the desk was really nice but said she wasn’t sure I was what they were looking for and she also said she didn’t want any goat massaman curry because she’s a vegetarian’.

Harry actually travelled to Normandy last May to visit the 86-year-old artist’s light-filled studio, where he sat as the subject for over two days.

The result, now a part of Hockney’s latest collection, David Hockney: Drawing from Life, see’s the pop star sat in a brown straw-like chair, wearing a brightly coloured yellow and orange striped cardigan and blue flared jeans.

Joker: Joe originally unveiled the painting with a photoshopped snap from Harry’s visit to David Hockney’s studio in Normandy (pictured) 

Funnyman: Writing: ‘A few months ago I was contacted by management for Harry Styles asking whether I would consider doing his portrait,’

Also included in the detailing is Harry’s classic pearl necklace, his abundance of silver and gold rings, and a slightly disheveled beard.  

Though Harry may one of the world’s biggest names, to Hockney, ‘He was just another person who came to the studio’, he told Vogue. 

‘I wasn’t really aware of his celebrity then’, he added.

The same cannot be said for the former One Direction star, who appeared to be in complete awe of the artist. 

‘David Hockney has been reinventing the way we look at the world for decades,’ he told the publication. ‘It was a complete privilege to be painted by him.’ 

Harry’s portrait is set to hang alongside writer Gregory Evans, Hockney’s printer Maurice Payne, the mayor of his local town Dozulé, his gardener and even his chiropodist. 

The exhibition, which opens on November 2 and goes on sale on Wednesday, marks the second time his collection will be hung.

Displayed for just 20 days prior to the Gallery’s closure due to Covid in March 2020, the exhibition – now restaged – has been expanded to include 33 of the artist’s most recent portraits, painted in acrylic between 2021 and 2022. 

Spoof: Joe had been inspired by David Hockney’s recent portrait (R) of Harry 

Pose: Harry actually travelled to Normandy last May to visit the 86-year-old artist’s light-filled studio, where he sat as the subject for over two days 

Hockney’s new paintings will be displayed alongside portraits originally exhibited as part of 2020’s presentation, rendered in pencil, pastel, ink and watercolour, using both traditional and non-traditional drawing equipment, including coloured pencil, pen, the 35mm camera and apps found on the iPhone and iPad. 

Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery said: ‘Following our reopening and the success of a brilliant first summer, I am delighted to be restaging this major exhibition for David Hockney at the new National Portrait Gallery, which makes good on a pledge I made to David in March 2020 that we would return to his wonderful exhibition in better days. 

‘Hockney is one of the most internationally respected and renowned artists today, and to see his new portraits, made over the last couple of years and which demonstrate his constant and continuing ingenuity and creative force, is life affirming.’ 

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