Canadian police have found a photo of a frowning Churchill stolen more than 2 years ago

Photographer Yusuf Karsh takes a picture next to Churchill’s portrait

PA Images/Getty Images

In Canada, the theft of the famous portrait of a sullen Winston Churchill, which disappeared 2 years ago from a hotel in Ottawa, was revealed.

It turned out that the photo was sold at an auction to a buyer from Italy, informs The Guardian.

The “Roaring Lion” photo of the late British prime minister was taken by Yusuf Karsh, a Canadian photographer of Armenian origin, after Churchill addressed the Canadian Parliament in 1941.

According to historical accounts, Karsch tore the cigar out of Churchill’s mouth just before photographing him. This made the British Prime Minister wince.

The portrait is one of the most famous images of Churchill. He even appeared on the British five-pound note.

Portrait of Winston Churchill by Yusuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh, Wikipedia

Yusuf Karsh donated a photo of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa. It was there that he and his wife lived for 18 years after fleeing the Armenian genocide. Until 1992, Karsh also had a studio there.

In August 2022, hotel staff noticed that a picture hanging in the reading room next to the main lobby had been replaced with a fake.

Then former guests of the hotel shared their portrait photos taken over the years. This helped narrow down the date of his probable disappearance from December 25, 2021 to January 6, 2022.

Now, after two years of investigations, Ottawa police say that with the help of tips from the public and forensics, they have found the perpetrator. He turned out to be a 43-year-old man who lives 370 kilometers west of Ottawa.

It turned out that the portrait was sold through an auction house in London to a buyer from Italy. No one, except the kidnapper himself, knew that the picture was stolen.

The suspect was arrested in April 2024. He was accused of theft, forgery and trafficking in stolen goods.

Currently, the portrait remains in Genoa. However, this month it will be returned to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel and re-displayed for guests to view.

We will remind, French bailiffs removed from the Paris repository of over 100 works by avant-garde artists. Among them are paintings by Kazimir Malevich. They suspect that the works were stolen from a private collector.