A PORTRAIT of boxer Amir Khan has been unveiled at Bolton Museum — and the man himself was there to see it.

The painting by Gibraltar-based artist Christian Hook, which features Amir in his gym, was part of Mr Hook's portfolio of portraits which saw him crowned Sky Arts Portrait Artist of The Year 2014.

In the painting, Amir can be seen striking a boxing pose, with an extra hand added on the bottom right to represent his charity work.

Amir said: "I think it's a great picture — I'm very pleased with it. Christian's done a great job.

"It's fantastic to have this picture in Bolton, where I live.

"One day when I bring my little girl to the art gallery, I can show this picture and say to her 'there's your Dad's picture on the wall'.

"This painting shows a lot of the charity work I do outside the boxing ring, which not a lot of people get to see.

"It gives me a lot of pride to be recognised in Bolton. I'm proud to be a Boltonian and that's why they've put this picture here."

Kirsty Haikney, collections access officer at Bolton Museum, said: "I couldn't be more pleased with the portrait — your eyes are totally drawn to it.

"It's really powerful and it's great for us to have someone contemporary from Bolton in a painting at this museum.

"Since the programme was aired on Sky, we've had so many people visiting us and asking us where it was."

Cllr John Byrne, Bolton Council's cabinet member for culture and youth, added: "I think it's an absolutely fantastic portrait — it's a fascinating work.

"The extra hand really catches your attention and it's great to have someone from Bolton represented in this museum."

The painting has previously been unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in London, when Mr Hook was crowned as winner of Sky Arts Portrait of The Year for his paintings of Amir and Sir Ian McKellen.

The unveiling was the culmination of a 10-month search for the most talented portrait artist in the UK.

Mr Hook beat 1,600 other artists to win the competition.

Portrait Artist of The Year 2014 is available to watch via Sky on demand.

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