The Easel

10th December 2019

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize

Can portrait photography survive the tsunami of social media images? A prestigious photographic prize indicates portraiture is doing just fine, thanks to its narrative ability. A bigger problem, says one critic, is the prize’s biases. Why must so many shortlisted photographers come from New York? And why the emphasis on gender and sexuality, “every modern gallery curator’s favourite subject”? More images are here.