The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, held at the National Portrait Gallery each year, attracts around 7,000 images and is open to professionals and amateurs alike. Now in its seventh year, though this is only the second time it has been sponsored by Taylor Wessing, the £12,000 prize is a significant award in artistic circles. The level of talent it attracts is consistently high yet the 'open to all' caveat means there's always an element of surprise. Featured here are professional commissions alongside personal portraits, photographs that tell a story, build a mystery, and those that capture simple beauty or terrible ugliness. This is a display of intelligent art, sometimes comic, often deeply moving, in which a very simple project - take a photograph that focuses on one or more human beings - has produced a glorious variety of work. This year's shortlist includes Paul Floyd Blake who photographed Olympic hopefuls including swimmer Rosie Bancroft, capturing her just moments after she had beaten her personal best. Michal Chelbin's image of 'Stas, Sentenced for Murder, Juvenile Prison, Russia 2009' from the series 'Locked' is also among the four photographers shortlisted for the prestigious prize.
(Image: Michal Chelbin - Stas, Sentenced for Murder, Juvenile Prison, Russia 2009 from the series Locked)
Visiting Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
Radisson Edwardian Leicester Square
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National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
Portraits from the 14th century to the present day
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Gerhard Richter Portraits
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BP Portrait Award 2009
National Portrait Gallery, WC2H 0HE
18th June 2009 - 20th September 2009
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The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, held at the 
