The Fairmont Chateau Lorier hotel called the police after discovering that the photograph of the former British prime minister was crooked and the frame was different from other portraits given by the Armenian-born Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh.
The “Roaring Lion” portrait, as the photographer dubbed it, was taken by Karsh after Churchill gave a speech in the Canadian Parliament in 1941, becoming a symbol of British resistance during World War II.
As speculation about the theft grows, former hotel guests are sharing their portrait photos to narrow down the date the original may have disappeared, possibly between December 25, 2021 and January 6, 2022.
“Someone probably wanted that photograph for their private collection or to sell. I don’t know,” Genevieve Dumas, the hotel’s general manager, told AFP.
Although the value of the portrait is estimated at $100,000, Dumas says it is priceless.
After fleeing the Armenian genocide, Karsh and his wife settled in Canada and lived in the hotel for 18 years. The man also portrayed activist Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, and Queen Elizabeth II.
According to historical accounts, Karsh plucked a cigar from Churchill’s mouth just before taking the portrait, which explains the Prime Minister’s scowl in the iconic photograph.
The entrance Famous photograph of Winston Churchill stolen from hotel in Canada was first published in diary TODAY.
