diff --git a/GitUI/Avatars/AvatarDownloader.cs b/GitUI/Avatars/AvatarDownloader.cs
index 72271a9d86f..2b05c8dc1df 100644
--- a/GitUI/Avatars/AvatarDownloader.cs
+++ b/GitUI/Avatars/AvatarDownloader.cs
@@ -152,7 +152,11 @@ async Task<Image> Download()
                         {
                             webClient.Proxy.Credentials = CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;
 
-                            using (var imageStream = await webClient.OpenReadTaskAsync(imageUrl))
+                            // actually, due to a .Net FX bug, WebClient.OpenReadTaskAsync *can* block before returning a Task
+                            // let's make sure this doesn't happen on the current thread (likely the UI thread)
+                            var readTask = Task.Run(() => webClient.OpenReadTaskAsync(imageUrl));
+
+                            using (var imageStream = await readTask)
                             {
                                 return Image.FromStream(imageStream);
                             }