Bruce Davidson will receive the award for his contribution to photography from the World Photographic Organisation. The photographer, who has been a member of the prestigious Magnum Photos agency since 1956, is also a founding member of the World Photographic Organisation.

Davidson will receive the award in a ceremony at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 27 April. His work will also be on display at the Somerset House from 26 April until 22 May as part of the World Photography Festival.

Davidson "began taking photographs at the age of ten in Oak Park, Illinois. While attending Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University, he continued to further his knowledge and develop his passion," says Magnum Photos. "He was later drafted into the army and stationed near Paris. There he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the founders of the renowned cooperative photography agency, Magnum Photos. When he left military service in 1957, Davidson worked as a freelance photographer for Life magazine and in 1958 became a full member of Magnum."

His work has since appeared in numerous publications and has been exhibited in major institutions worldwide. He has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Photography and the Gold Medal Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Arts Club in 2007.

Davidson is also the author of three films and, now aged 77, continues his practice as a photographer and lecturer.

Scott Gray, managing director of the World Photography Organisation, says that the institution is "proud to honour Bruce Davidson for his truly outstanding contribution to photography and [we] are thrilled to be awarding a friend and true master of photography."

Davidson will also be one of the five photographers to take part in the "In Photographer's Studio" series of events, uncovering the personal story of his career on the 26 April as a part of the World Photography Festival in London.

Chris Beetles Fine Photographs in London will be presenting another retrospective of Davidson's work from 4 until 28 May.