Canada
Famous photo portrait of Winston Churchill stolen from Ottawa hotel
Former US President George W. Bush in front of the photo portrait of Winston Churchill in Ottawa in 2004
© Charles Dharapak / AP Photo / Picture Alliance
A photograph of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was apparently stolen months ago from a luxury hotel in Ottawa, Canada. Because the picture was replaced by a copy, the theft was only noticed last week.
The theft of a famous photo portrait of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from a luxury hotel in Canada has caused a stir. The “Roaring Lion” portrait, which has hung in the Fairmont Château Laurier hotel in the capital Ottawa for decades, has been secretly replaced with a copy. “Someone probably wanted the picture for their private collection or to sell it,” hotel director Geneviève Dumas told AFP on Wednesday.
The police were called to the hotel last Friday. Staff noticed that the frame around the shot by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh looked different than the frames around his other photos. Recordings of the portrait by previous hotel guests helped to narrow down the period of the theft: the crime must therefore have taken place between December 25, 2021 and January 6, 2022.
Estimated value of Winston Churchill’s portrait at $100,000
The photo, taken by Karsh after Churchill delivered a speech to the Canadian Parliament in 1941, in the middle of World War II, is estimated to be worth $100,000. But hotel director Dumas says it’s priceless: “It means a lot to us. It’s part of the history of Karsh, the history of the hotel and the war history of Canada and Britain.” She hopes the hotel gets the photo back.
The police have started the investigation and are evaluating, among other things, the recordings from surveillance cameras. However, due to the corona pandemic, the hotel guests had to wear protective masks at the time of the theft, which should make identification more difficult.
Portrait by photographer Karsh is one of Churchill’s best-known photographs
The photograph is one of Churchill’s most famous portraits and is even featured on the British five pound note. It shows the Prime Minister at the time, one hand on a cane and the other hand on his side, with a grim expression.
According to legend, Karsh had taken a cigar out of the World War II Prime Minister’s mouth just before the picture was taken. “He looked so warlike he could have devoured me,” the photographer later recalled. The iconic shot became a symbol of Britain’s resilience during World War II in the face of attacks from Nazi Germany.
Karsh, who died in 2002, is known for portraits of historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and Queen Elizabeth II. He had fled his homeland to Canada because of the massacres of Armenians during World War I and then stayed at the Hotel Fairmont Château Laurier for 18 years. His first photo exhibition was shown in the hotel in 1936, and he had his studio there until 1992.