The BP Portrait Award, now in its twenty-eighth year, is a popular fixture on the summer calendar, and is the leading showcase for artists specializing in portraiture. This year, for the first time, the competition is open to all artists aged eighteen and over from around the world. Last year the competition received a record-number of entrants (1,100), all competing for the main prize of GBP25,000, and visitors (197,000). This year there will also be a new prize for artists aged between eighteen and thirty. As well as featuring all the entries from this year's competition, this arresting book includes a witty and illuminating essay by popular writer and journalist Lynne Truss and an illustrated article by Toby Wiggins, the travel-award winner 2006. Toby Wiggins portrays the people who work the land in Dorset. His portraits show his respect and admiration for their skill and knowledge and his deep commitment to rural life, which is under threat.