Sir Winston Churchil’s portrait by photographer Yousuf Karsh stolen

By Ishkhan Ghazarian

One of the worlds most iconic photographs has been stolen! World famous photograph of Sir Winston Churchill, taken in December 1941 on Parliament Hill, by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh has been stolen from Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel and replaced with a copy. “As a precautionary measure, the remaining photographs located in the Reading Lounge have been removed until they can be secured properly,” said hotel management.

Yousuf Karsh

“We are deeply saddened by this brazen act,” Geneviève Dumas, the Chateau Laurier’s general manager, said in a news release. “The hotel is incredibly proud to house this stunning Karsh collection, which was securely installed in 1998.”

The photograph of then-British prime minister Winston Churchill, known as “The Roaring Lion” was taken after the speech Churchill gave, at Canada’s Parliament, about the the Second World War. Karsh famously took Churchill’s cigar from him just before the photo session, which led the prime minister to scowl at the camera. This iconic photograph has become one of the most reproduced photographs in the world.

Yousuf Karsh and his wife lived at the Chateau Laurier for nearly two decades, while Karsh operated his studio from the hotel from 1972 to 1992.Karsh has been described as one of the 20th century’s greatest portrait photographers.