diff --git modules/user/user.module modules/user/user.module
index 9342935..d3202b7 100644
--- modules/user/user.module
+++ modules/user/user.module
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ function user_module_invoke($type, &$edit, $account, $category = NULL) {
 function user_theme() {
   return array(
     'user_picture' => array(
-      'variables' => array('account' => NULL),
+      'variables' => array('account' => NULL, 'style_name' => NULL),
       'template' => 'user-picture',
     ),
     'user_profile' => array(
@@ -1450,9 +1450,10 @@ function template_preprocess_user_picture(&$variables) {
     }
     if (isset($filepath)) {
       $alt = t("@user's picture", array('@user' => format_username($account)));
+      $style = !empty($variables['style_name']) ? $variables['style_name'] : variable_get('user_picture_style', '');
       // If the image does not have a valid Drupal scheme (for eg. HTTP),
       // don't load image styles.
-      if (module_exists('image') && file_valid_uri($filepath) && $style = variable_get('user_picture_style', '')) {
+      if (module_exists('image') && file_valid_uri($filepath) && $style) {
         $variables['user_picture'] = theme('image_style', array('style_name' => $style, 'path' => $filepath, 'alt' => $alt, 'title' => $alt));
       }
       else {