Above Untitled, from Adrian Nettleship's ongoing series ‘Drowning.’ (©Adrian Nettleship/Courtesy of the photographer).

In 1863, the powerful Paris Salon’s jury rejected 3,000 works entered for the annual art exhibition, this unprecedented number caused outrage and protest amongst the artists whose work had be dismissed. ‘Wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of these complaints,’ Emperor Napoléon III decreed that the rejected artists could exhibit their works in an annex to the regular Salon, in what would be termed a Salon des Refusés. Whilst critics and public alike ridiculed the refusés, the rejected works included such now famous paintings as, Édouard Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l’herbe); and James McNeill Whistler’s Girl in White. 

This year the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011, which is organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London, and celebrates the photographic portrait, and forms a key event on London's photographic calendar, selected 60 portraits for their annual show from 6,033 entries. 

Devised by two London based portrait photographers — who wish to remain anonymous — the Portrait Salon follows in the tradition of the Salon des Refusés, and aims to show the very best of the 5,973 unselected entries in a curated projection that is not constrained by the physical limitations of the gallery space, and therefore is able to exhibit a higher percentage of work.

If you submitted work to the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize and where rejected, you can submit your photograph to the Portrait Salon by emailing a JPEG (that measures 1000 pixels on the longest edge) to the organisers.