'Larger than life' Ed Sheeran portrait unveiled

The same artist has painted Brad Pitt and the Queen

Ed Sheeran
Published 3rd May 2017
Last updated 3rd May 2017

A 'larger than life' portrait of singer Ed Sheeran has been unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Northern Ireland artist Colin Davidson, who has previously painted Brad Pitt and the Queen, met with Ed at his home in 2015. When they met Colin made a number of drawings and took reference photos in order to work on the masterpiece.

Colin Davidson and Ed Sheeran © PA Images

The Belfast-based artist said it had been a "true privilege to get to know Ed and his family" and commented, "I feel I got it with Ed".

Ed was clearly happy with the work and posted a photo of the portrait on Instagram last night saying, 'Portrait of me by the wonderful Colin Davidson is on exhibition from tomorrow onwards at the national portrait gallery, check it owwwwttt x'.

Colin is known for his large portraits which are all four-foot square. According to the artist they are deliberately the same size, "The idea is that everyone I paint is an equal and that format allows the face to become something else," he explained.

Colin has actually painted two portraits of the 'Castle on the Hill' singer, however the second is in a private collection.

This portrait can be seen as part of the Primary Collection at the National Portrait Gallery which is free to visit.