A famous portrait of Winston Churchill was stolen in Ottawa
It turned out that the intruder had replaced it with a copy.
An original of one of Winston Churchill's most famous portraits, The Roaring Lion, was discovered missing from the legendary Château Laurier Hotel in Ottawa. It was discovered by chance: On Friday evening, a hotel employee noticed that the frame of the portrait had not been hung correctly and did not match the frames of the other five portraits by Yusuf Karsh.
Yusush Karsh was one of the most famous portrait photographers of the 20th century. He took this photograph in 1941 when Churchill, as prime minister of Great Britain, was in Ottawa to address Parliament during World War II.
The hotel contacted Jerry Fielder, director of the Karsh estate, to verify that the photograph was authentic; it was taken from a negative and signed by the author. When Fielder asked for a copy of the signature, he immediately realized it was a fake.
Representatives of Château Laurier made a statement saying that the collection of the photographer's work is a great pride of the hotel, and added:
"We are deeply saddened by this insolent act."
What happened to the original iconic image is unclear. Fielder says he last saw it hanging in a hotel in July 2019, and that "it was an authentic piece."
Ottawa police confirmed that they are investigating the case.
