Katie Hitchcock-Smith has won the Winston Taylor Photo Portrait Prize 2026 for a portrait of two young men in cowboy dress in the Moroccan desert. Her photograph, Moroccan (Amazigh) Cowboys, comes from the series Tajine Westerns and takes the £15,000 first prize in what was formerly known as the Taylor Wessing prize.

The winning image was made during a residency near Erfoud in eastern Morocco. It plays with the imagery of American westerns and advertising, showing its subjects embracing cowboy styling against a desert backdrop while questioning the cultural stereotypes that come with it. The judges praised the portrait for the way it explores cultural identity and globalisation through a single, striking encounter.

Max Pattenden took second prize of £3,000 for Havannah, Lee Moor, while James Clifford Kent won third prize of £2,000 for Neisser, Pinar del Río, Cuba. Marcie Docherty received the £8,000 Winston Taylor Photographic Commission for her group portrait PE, and will create a new work for the gallery's collection.

The four photographers were chosen from 3,977 entries by 1,338 photographers from around the world. The judging panel included broadcaster and author Emma Dabiri, photographers Nadine Ijewere and Mary McCartney, and the gallery's senior curator of photographs, Brandei Estes. The winning works are on show in the prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 November 2026 until 17 January 2027. The exhibition brings together 56 works by 56 photographers, including the shortlisted portraits and a wider selection from this year's international submissions. Hitchcock-Smith, an explorer, writer and photographer raised in Boston, Massachusetts, made the winning image during a residency near Erfoud.