Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh’s iconic portrait is one of the most reproduced photographs of the 20th century.  Hotel officials discovered over the weekend that it had been taken and replaced by a replica.
On Tuesday, hotel officials said they were analyzing photos submitted by members of the public with the portrait in the background to determine whether they included the original or the replica.  They determined that the photo was stolen in late 2021 or early 2022, about eight months ago.
“We were able to narrow down the date to between Dec. 25 and Jan. 6, 2022,” Geneviève Dumas, the hotel’s general manager, said in an interview.  “We have a gap of a few days where this exchange actually took place.”
Over the weekend, hotel officials noticed that the picture had not been hung properly.  They then discovered that the portrait’s frame did not match the other Karsh frames that hang in the hotel’s reading room.
“I showed this picture almost every day to guests and we could never notice it,” Dumas said.  “It was professionally done, very similar to the original.
“I would honestly ask people if they know anything, hear anything, saw anything, or if anyone tries to sell you this photo, please let us know.  We want that image back.  It is very important for us.”
Ottawa police are also investigating the theft.
The photo was taken in December 1941 and is the best-known portrait of Karsh.  It remains on the British five pound note and has graced postage stamps and magazine covers.

Yusuf Kars’s best-known portrait of Sir Winston Churchill appears on the reverse of the Bank of England’s £5 note. (Courtesy: The Bank of England) It is known for Churchill’s determined expression and attitude, which many saw as a reflection of wartime sentiment in Britain at the time – taking a stand against the encroaching threat of Nazism. Carrs took Churchill’s cigar from him just before the photo shoot on Parliament Hill, which led to the prime minister being killed on camera.

The photo could fetch six figures at auction: specialist

Earlier on Tuesday, before a timeline for the theft was established, an art recovery expert said whoever stole the photo would likely try to sell it quickly, adding that the photo could fetch six figures at auction.
Christopher Marinello, founder and CEO of Art Recovery International and one of the world’s leading experts in recovering stolen art, said the thief – or thieves – will likely try to sell the picture through an auction house that doesn’t do the due diligence.  its source.
“The thief knew what they were doing.  This wasn’t a spur of the moment, ‘Let me pull this off the wall from a visitor,”’ Marinello told Ottawa’s Newstalk 580 CFRA on Work with Graham Richardson.  “Someone had to deal with this in a premeditated way.
“The person who stole this is not an art lover, not a photography lover,” he added.  “They’re looking for cash and they’re going to try to sell it to get that cash.”

Kars’ widow ‘stunned, shocked’

Jerry Fielder, the Carrs’ estate manager, said the hotel called him over the weekend and told him they had reason to believe there was a duplicate photo on the wall that had replaced the original.
Fielder asked them to send him a photo of the signature on the portrait, which he immediately saw was fake.
“I could tell someone had tried to forge the signature and I know his signature very well.  This confirmed that it was not the original.”
Karsh hired Fielder in 1979 as his photography assistant, and they worked together in Karsh’s studio at Chateau Laurier for 14 years.
After that, Fielder became his executor and then the manager of his estate after his death in 2002.
Fielder and his colleagues at the Karsh estate all reacted with disbelief, he said.
“I just couldn’t believe this had happened. It’s been there for about 25 years and I never dreamed this would happen,” he said.
Karsh’s widow, Estrellita, is also “stunned, shocked, surprised and, like all of us, saddened by the fact that it was taken,” Fielder said.
This particular print of the photo is special, he said.
Karsh made prints from the negative over the years, but Chateau Laurier, where he lived for nearly two decades and had his studio from 1972 to 1992, held a dear place in his heart.  When the Karhses moved in 1998, Karsh donated a small collection to be placed in the hotel reading room.
“His relationship with the hotel was very deep and very warm,” Fielder said.  “This was a very special print for him, and it was a really beautiful print.  So it has a very special meaning.”
Fielder said he couldn’t pinpoint the portrait’s monetary value, only calling it “very valuable.”  But Marinello said it could be worth more than $100,000.
“I think the thief knew exactly what they were looking for and he’s going to try to get it very quickly,” Marinello said.
Many auction houses don’t do due diligence on how to acquire the lot, happy to collect commissions from the buyer and seller, Marinello said.
“Unfortunately there is a market for this kind of thing,” he said.  “They will try various auction houses and hopefully find one that will not do adequate due diligence.  And unfortunately, it’s all over.”
With news of the theft spreading across the UK and beyond, Fielder hopes that with the publicity surrounding the theft, some new information will emerge.
“I hope someone saw something,” he said.  “I hope that with all the publicity that has been generated that it can somehow be recovered and the person or persons held responsible.”
– with files from Stefan Keyes, CTV News Ottawa