“I knew after I had taken it that it was an important picture, but I could hardly have dreamed that it would become one of the most widely reproduced images in the history of photography,” Yousuf Karsh wrote about the 1941 portrait of Churchill.
Yousuf Karsh took photographs of Fidel Castro, Ernest Hemingway, John F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein among others. The Churchill photo helped make his career.
“I knew after I had taken it that it was an important picture, but I could hardly have dreamed that it would become one of the most widely reproduced images in the history of photography,” Yousuf Karsh wrote about the 1941 portrait of Churchill.
How much would you pay for a stern-looking photograph of Winston Churchill, signed by its Canadian photographer?
Experts estimate that the famous “Roaring Lion” photo swiped from the Ottawa hotel that once housed Yousuf Karsh and his studio could be worth thousands, but not millions.
“I don’t think people came in from the ceiling or anything wearing goggles,” said Stephen Bulger, president of a Toronto photo gallery under his name.
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“I think it might have been people that had some beers in them or something.”
Last Friday, a maintenance employee at the Château Laurier noticed one of the Karsh photos hanging on the wooden walls of the Reading Lounge wasn’t centred properly, according to the hotel’s general manager. Taking a closer look, the hotel and Karsh’s estate determined it was a copy.
Ottawa police are investigating the incident, the first time something like this has occurred in the Château Laurier, the hotel says. Though the image carries significant historical and sentimental value, experts say it probably won’t yield much cash.
Depending on the exact size and condition of the photo, among other factors, Bulger said the photo could go for as much as $100,000.
Other versions of the photo have auctioned for between $1,400 (U.S.) to roughly $40,000 ($1,800 to $52,000 Cdn.), according to Paul Roth, director of The Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University.
But this particular print was signed and given to the Laurier as part of a small collection of portraits by Karsh himself, when the photographer stopped living at the hotel, which also once housed his studio, said Jerry Fielder, director of Karsh’s estate.
Yousuf Karsh took photographs of Fidel Castro, Ernest Hemingway, John F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein among others. The Churchill photo helped make his career.
CBC
The news of the missing portrait was heartbreaking for Karsh’s widow, who lives in Boston.
“She was as shocked and surprised as all of us were,” Fielder said. “This meant a great deal to her and she’s very saddened about it.”
The photo was taken in 1941, during Churchill’s visit to Ottawa, where then-prime minister Mackenzie King invited Karsh to take a portrait of the U.K. leader. After giving a speech, Churchill entered the Speaker’s chamber, where Karsh was waiting with his lights and camera.
Churchill wasn’t expecting the photo, and wasn’t particularly thrilled for it, Karsh recounted.
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“Churchill lit a fresh cigar, puffed at it with a mischievous air, and then magnanimously relented. ‘You may take one,’ ” reads an account on the website for Karsh’s estate. The photographer politely held out an ashtray for Churchill’s cigar, but he continued smoking it. Karsh set up his camera and waited.
“Then I stepped toward him and, without premeditation, but ever so respectfully, I said, ‘Forgive me, sir,’ and plucked the cigar out of his mouth,” Karsh writes. “By the time I got back to my camera, he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me.”
The result was the U.K. prime minister posing with one hand on his hip and his brow wrinkled into a deep scowl.
“He’s actually upset, but he looks really resolute and strong-willed and formidable,” said Roth. He notes that the photo helped forge the widely accepted public opinion of him as “the strong leader” of the U.K., particularly in the Second World War.
“This picture is one of the most iconic portraits of a politician ever made.”
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(Churchill ended up letting Karsh take a second photo, this time while smiling, says Fielder. That one ended up being the Churchill family’s favourite, though not nearly as famous.)
In 2016, the scowling photo became the image that now appears on the British five-pound note.
As far as the investigation goes, the hotel narrowed down the dates when the photo could have been exchanged to between Dec. 25, 2021, and Jan. 6, 2022, by going through photos of the gallery. The photos have also been submitted to Ottawa police, but they didn’t provide any updates on their investigation early Wednesday.
“The central criminal investigations section has commenced an investigation and no further details are available at this time,” police said in an email.
Whoever swapped the photos needed special tools to remove the original, said Geneviève Dumas, general manager at the hotel, noting it was secured to the wall with four locks. “Somebody knew what they were doing.”
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Even so, Bulger doesn’t think the photo is worth enough, in the big picture, for it to have been stolen by a professional.
“It’s not worth millions of dollars,” he said.
But the intrinsic value of the shot is hard to deny.
“It made him,” Bulger said of Karsh.
The photographer felt the same.
“I knew after I had taken it that it was an important picture, but I could hardly have dreamed that it would become one of the most widely reproduced images in the history of photography,” Karsh writes.
The hotel and Karsh’s estate are encouraging anyone who has information about the photo to contact Ottawa police or the hotel.
“This is so important for the history of the hotel, for the history of Canada and the history of the Karsh family,” said Dumas.
“It’s like the Louvre losing the Mona Lisa. For us, it’s that important.”
Maria Iqbal is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter at The Hamilton Spectator focused on aging issues. She completed her master’s degree in journalism from Ryerson University. She previously worked for The Globe and Mail and her work has appeared in Toronto Life, J-Source, and Broadview. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.
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