LONDON.- The National Portrait Gallery announced the Call for Entries for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2012, a major international photographic award. Entry forms are now available and the closing date for entries is 9 July 2012. To enter, visit www.npg.org.uk/photoprize and complete the online application form.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2012 is open to all photographers over the age of 18 and provides an important platform for portrait photographers of all ages including professionals, gifted amateurs and students. Around 60 photographers will be selected for the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, and the winner of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2012 will receive £12,000. The exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 8 Nov 2012 – 17 Feb 2013.

New for this year, the John Kobal New Work Award, will be awarded to a photographer under the age of 30 selected for the exhibition. The winning photographer will receive a cash prize of £4000 to include undertaking a commission from the Gallery to photograph a sitter connected with the UK film industry.

Last year the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, sponsored by international law firm Taylor Wessing, attracted nearly 6,000 entries and was won by Jooney Woodward for her portrait Gentleman Jack. Prizes were also awarded to Jill Wooster, Dona Schwartz, Jasper Clarke and David Knight.

Tim Eyles, Managing Partner of Taylor Wessing says: ‘Each year the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize brings together a collection of portraits that provide insight, inspire questions and catalyse debates. The multifarious nature of the entries and the lives and cultures that they represent makes the Prize both relevant and thought provoking. That provocation is one of the reasons why Taylor Wessing has always been supportive of the arts: in generating a reaction from the viewer, art is a great medium through which to encourage innovation and thus the development of creative talent. We look forward to seeing what will inevitably be another challenging and inspiring collection of entries this year.’

Simon Crocker, Chairman of The John Kobal Foundation says: ‘We are delighted to continue our association with the Gallery and the Portrait Prize. This new award reflects the late John Kobal’s combined passions for cinema and photography which we continue to pursue’.