Harry Styles ‘Immediately’ Reached Out to Buy the Portrait Joe Lycett Painted of Him
For a price of £6, comedian Joe Lycett successfully sold a portrait of Harry Styles to the singer himself. In May 2022, the ex-One Direction member visited Hockney's art studio in Normandy, France, where he posed for a portrait. This particular artwork captures Styles adorned in an orange and red cardigan and a pearl necklace. Among a collection of over 30 fresh creations, this painting is set to be showcased at London's National Portrait Gallery in November, per The Independent.
Following the unveiling of Hockney's rendition of Styles, Lycett produced a side-splitting imitation of the artwork. In Lycett's version, the 29-year-old singer is depicted seated on a chair wearing blue jeans, a red-and-yellow striped cardigan, and a single strand of pearls. Sharing his creation on social media over the previous weekend, Lycett amusingly informed his followers that Styles' management had humorously dismissed his artistic efforts, per People.
"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 realized there was some diced goat going off so I made massaman curry, " the English TV presenter wrote while adding how he'd "done a good job of the pic but his management was quite cross and one of them said ‘it’s Harry Styles not Jeremy Beadle's face on a f---ing egg’ and Harry just awkwardly kept saying it was an honor to meet me whilst not eating his curry."
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In the fictional scenario, Styles' team ultimately "didn't take the painting." Subsequently, Lycett shared that he "contacted the National Portrait Gallery on the phone and they said they don’t take unsolicited submissions and it was hard to make a judgment on a call," This reference was in connection to the original artist's exhibit, titled "David Hockney: Drawing from Life," hosted by London's National Portrait Gallery.
Following this, Lycett uploaded a dialogue that seemed to involve the verified Instagram account of the singer behind "Watermelon Sugar." "I think it's incredibly 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. Hope you've been well. H," the message allegedly from the Grammy winner said.
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Lycett's reply entails expressing his willingness to part with the artwork for eight British pounds, which roughly translates to slightly over $10.00. He humorously mentions, "There's no curry left sadly" In the screenshots shared by Lycett, it seems that Styles' account responds by proposing a sum of six British pounds, amounting to nearly $8.00. Lycett acknowledges the offered price as reasonable and even playfully suggests including a "Kit Kat chunky peanut butter" as an additional bonus. "Long story short I just organized a £6 BACS transfer with Harry Styles," Lycett provided a summary for his followers.
References:
https://people.com/harry-styles-buys-joke-portrait-of-himself-to-hang-in-my-home-immediately-7571230
