Vote for the Member's Choice Award - Icon Photography Contest 2026
Our panel of specialists have selected a shortlist of six fantastic photographs from across the Icon community.
With generous support from Getty Images, the Icon Photography Prize 2026 shone a light on Skills At Risk: the specialist skills, traditional crafts and conservation expertise in danger of being lost. The images tell the stories behind conservation and celebrate the people keeping vital heritage skills alive.
The winner of the Members' Choice award is up to you! Voting closes at the end of the day on 15 November 2026, so be sure to pick your favourite image before the deadline. Cast your votes using the link below:
The Members' Choice award and overall Winner will be announced as part of Icon's Winter Reception at the October Gallery in London, on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.
The Shortlist
Mahshid Khalilzadeh
The Last Coppersmith: The Hands That Keep Tradition Alive
About the photo: The photograph shows a traditional craftsman repairing a samovar with his skilled hands and years of experience. Behind him, dusty copper vessels can be seen, adding to the story of this traditional craft.
Iona Shepherd
Amy restoring a fragile Syrian glass bottle for Paisley Museum
About the photo: Amy Walsh, from Fine Art Restoration Company works on consolidating an ancient Syrian glass bottle for the Paisley Museum displays.
Simone Ligi
Timeless gestures: guarding the past for future generations
About the photo: An evocative shot celebrating the value of time. The contrast between modern high-altitude equipment and the restorer's delicate hand gesture on the mosaic symbolizes a timeless mission: guarding the beauty of the past to pass it down intact to future generations. The shot captures the exact moment a conservator, suspended on an aerial work platform, works in silence to preserve the original brilliance of the building's mosaic details.
Keaton Scandrett
Through the eyes of a stained-glass conservator: 1300 A.D.
About the photo: The unique materials of glass and lead come together to transform church interiors into transcendental sacred spaces, filled with light and colour. Decades of accumulated dirt and opaque corrosion products are carefully removed by conservators, allowing transmitted light to once again illuminate the medieval windows in all their glory.
Morven Rushworth
A day in the dark room
About the photo: Photograph of student Morven Rushworth, on placement in the conservation lab at York Archaeology, developing a film x-ray of an object. This image shows the student on placement at York Archaeology (Morven Rushworth) checking a piece of film after its development in the dark room. Morven came from a conservation degree which taught her how to use digital x-ray equipment, which turned out not to be useful for her placement at York Archaeology. After being taught by her supervisors at York Archaeology, Morven found that the film process process, while seemingly in theory more time-consuming, has been fine-tuned over the years of trial and error. This particular day Morven had spent most of her day in and out of the Dark Room, producing x-rays for approximately 300 iron objects.
Bethany Palumbo ACR
During treatment, painting individual hairs on the snout of an extinct Caspian Tiger
About the photo: In this image, conservator Bethany Palumbo uses a fine brush to add individual hairs to the snout of an extinct Caspian Tiger. This taxidermy specimen had many bald areas that needed attention but due to the location of the project, materials to complete the restoration were limited. With precision and patience however, the effect of layered fur can still be achieved.