Yesterday, after the press morning at the National Portrait Gallery, the Guardian published its gallery of the Winston Taylor Photo Portrait Prize 2026. Of the 56 portraits in the exhibition, they chose 21 to feature, and my portrait of John is one of them.
Seeing him there still feels a little unreal. I took the photograph during a family trip to Kenya, in a busy pre-school classroom in Naivasha. The children were singing and performing, and I was moving around the room trying to keep up with them. Then I noticed John, sitting quietly at the back. In a room full of noise, he had this remarkable stillness. I took the picture before I knew anything about him, and I think that’s why it works. It’s simply him, as he was in that moment.
I’m grateful to the school’s headmaster for welcoming us into the classroom, and to the Guardian for including the portrait. Most of all I’m grateful to John, who will never know how many people have now stopped to look at him.
The exhibition opens to the public today and runs at the National Portrait Gallery in London until 17 January 2027. If you visit, I’d love to hear what you think.
I’ve also started a fundraiser so the children at the school can take part in the Kenya Music Festivals. If John’s portrait has stayed with you, [you can donate here].
