'Not quite': Seymour's surprising addition to portrait bound for auction

Author: Tom Rose,
Publish Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026, 3:06pm

Act leader David Seymour wrote "not quite me but nice art" across Auckland-based Jason Hoyt's portrait when he was asked to sign it. Photo / TradeMe

An artist commissioned to create a portrait series of New Zealand’s political leaders for auction says Act’s David Seymour left “unsolicited art criticism” over his piece instead of signing it.

Seymour told the Herald he’d signed the portrait as requested, and “with a bit of luck, my additional thoughts might add to the resale value”.

“I’d recommend fact-checking ChatGPT before spending 15 hours on a portrait,” he added, referencing the artist’s AI use for research on the works.

Auckland-based Jason Hoyt was commissioned to create original portraits of the country’s party leaders for an online auction, painting several works that form the “New Zealand Political Leaders Collection”.

Hoyt’s seven portraits depict the leaders of New Zealand’s six parliamentary parties – plus Opportunity’s Quilae Wong – with each backdrop framed by a personalised token or memento.

The portraits are listed for auction on Trade Me, where 10% of profits are expected to be donated to Hospice New Zealand.

Act leader David Seymour wrote "not quite me but nice art" across Auckland-based Jason Hoyt's portrait when he was asked to sign it. Photo / Trade Me

Taking to the r/newzealand forum over the weekend, a Reddit user purporting to be Hoyt said he had attempted to get each leader’s signature on their respective portraits before they went to auction.

“I waited for about an hour at one of David Seymour’s public meetings then showed him his portrait,” Hoyt wrote.

“A look of disgust came over his face almost immediately and he said, ‘Why would you paint Ayn Rand in the background? I don’t like Ayn Rand!’

“I explained ChatGPT had incorrectly told me he was a fan of the Russian writer and philosopher, and that I could change it easily enough if he wanted.

“He was still unhappy and said I’d made him look too sad in the portrait also.”

Hoyt said he’d spent around 15 hours completing Seymour’s piece, so the Act leader’s reaction took him by surprise.

Act leader David Seymour wrote "not quite me but nice art" across Auckland-based Jason Hoyt's portrait when he was asked to sign it. Photo / Trade Me

“He said, ‘Look, I’ll still sign it’, but instead of just signing his name as requested, he wrote in thick black marker across the painting ‘not quite me but nice art – D Seymour’,” Hoyt wrote.

“He must have felt a bit bad, as when I was walking out the door he called out, ‘Great painting though ... what did you use to make it?’.

“I was over the interaction, so just said ‘paint and stuff’ and walked out.”

While Hoyt said he was “a bit taken aback” by Seymour’s comments, he conceded he should have researched further before including the bust of Rand.

“But it might make the painting more interesting to have his unsolicited art criticism written across it.”