Stolen Churchill Portrait Recovered After 2 Years, Returned to Canada from Italy

After 2 years, a portrait of Winston Churchill was finally found. The photograph was stolen in Canada and was found in Italy. Dignitaries from both countries celebrated the successful recovery of a photographic portrait of Winston Churchill. The artwork is known as “The Roaring Lion.”

Italy returned to Canada the famous photographic portrait that was stolen from an Ottawa hotel. It was sold at auction to an unsuspecting Italian lawyer.

The portrait was in Canada as it was taken there. The author of the photograph is Yousuf Karsh. He took it in 1941, just after the British World War II leader gave a speech to the Canadian parliament.

Churchill appears in the image with his hand on his hip, frowning severely at the lens. According to the author, the expression is due to the fact that he had just plucked a cigar from the prime minister’s hand before releasing the shutter.

For Karsh this portrait was the start of a renowned career. It boosted his career. He went on to photograph some of the 20th century’s most famous icons, including Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein and Queen Elizabeth II.

Along with his wife Estrellita, Karsh gifted a signed original print to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in 1998. The couple not only operated a studio within the hotel over the course of two decades, they even lived there.

Meanwhile, Fairmont Château Laurier hotel general manager Geneviève Dumas said Thursday that she was immensely grateful.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone involved in solving this case and ensuring the safe return of this valuable piece of history.”

When was the portrait stolen?

Canadian police estimate the theft occurred sometime between Christmas 2021 and January 6, 2022, and indicate that the portrait was replaced with a fake. However, the swap was discovered months later, in August. A hotel worker noticed that the frame was not hung properly and looked different from the others.

For years, the picture hung in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel. The Armenian-Canadian photographer had his studio there. But in August 2022, the staff there noticed that his original picture had been replaced by a signed copy.

The buyer returned it without resistance

It is clear that the date of the theft was before the discovery, given that it had been sold by an auction house in London in May 2022 to the lawyer Nicola Cassinelli. Once he learned the truth, he agreed to return it.

«I think that if Mr. Karsh donated it to the hotel, it means that he really wanted it to stay there,» the Italian lawyer said during a ceremony at the Canadian embassy where he returned the work.

The Italian lawyer said he had paid 5,200 pounds ($6,895) without commission at the auction and had only received a partial refund. «I didn’t get all the money back, but I did get a very funny story to tell,» Cassinelli said.

The hotel’s director said the photo was an iconic image and an integral part of its history. «Its value far exceeded its monetary value,» Geneviève Dumas said.

How was the portrait handed over?

The portrait was handed over at a ceremony at the Canadian embassy in Rome. The Italian carabinieri were in charge of handing the portrait over to the Canadian ambassador to Italy, Elissa Goldberg. She praised the cooperation between Italian and Canadian investigators. Together it led to the recovery.

The final destination of the portrait of the British president will be where it was originally: back at the Fairmont Château Laurier. In the same city where the image was captured: in Ottawa. It will once again be displayed as a remarkable historical portrait.