diff --git a/src/vcard.py b/src/vcard.py
index 24e457158..c78a41cc4 100644
--- a/src/vcard.py
+++ b/src/vcard.py
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ class Vcard_window:
 	def on_clear_button_clicked(self, widget):
 		# empty the image
 		self.xml.get_widget('PHOTO_image').set_from_pixbuf(None)
+		self.avatar_encoded = None
 
 	def image_is_ok(self, image):
 		if not os.path.exists(image):