| Artist: | Yousuf Karsh |
| Medium: | Photograph |
The Roaring Lion is a black and white photographic portrait of a 67-year-old Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The portrait was taken in 1941 by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[1]
The photograph was shot on December 30, 1941, in the Speaker's Chamber of the Canadian House of Commons at Parliament in Ottawa after Churchill delivered his "Some chicken, some neck" speech on World War II to Canadian members of parliament.[2] The brief photo session was arranged by the Canadian prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King.
Churchill is particularly noted for his posture and facial expression, likened to the wartime feelings that prevailed in the UKpersistence in the face of an all-conquering enemy. The photo session was only to last two minutes. Karsh asked the prime minister to put down his cigar, as the smoke would interfere with the image. Churchill refused, so just before taking the photograph, Karsh quickly moved toward the prime minister and said, "Forgive me, sir," while snatching the cigar from his subject's mouth. Karsh said, "By the time I got back to the camera, he looked so belligerent, he could have devoured me". His scowl has been compared to "a fierce glare as if confronting the enemy".[3] Following the taking of the photo, Churchill stated, "You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed," thus giving the picture its notable name.[4]
USC Fisher Museum of Art described it as a "defiant and scowling portrait [which] became an instant icon of Britain's stand against fascism."[5]
The resulting image—one of the 20th century's most iconic portraits—effectively launched Karsh's international career.[1]
Signed prints of this portrait from Karsh's studio were produced using gelatin silver on paper. They were signed as "© Y Karsh Ottawa" in white marker in the lower left or lower right corner. This later changed to Karsh signing in ink on one of the lower corners of the white border surrounding the photograph. Early print sizes ranged from or then progressed to and respectively in later years.[6]
The photograph appeared on the cover of the May 21, 1945, issue of Life,[7] which bought its one-time use for $100. One of the first prints of the original negative hangs on the wall in the Speaker's Chamber of the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, where the image was photographed. In 2008, Canada Post released a $1.60CDN commemorative stamp of the image; 325,000 copies were printed. Since 2016, it has appeared on the £5 note issued by the Bank of England.[8] In 2019, the Royal Canadian Mint, with permission from the Karsh estate, released a pure silver $100CDN face value coin. Only 700 examples were minted.[9]
The original negative and the vast collection of Karsh's images were donated by his estate to the Library and Archives Canada in 1992. Since then, copies taken from the original negative have not been allowed.
In 1998, an original signed print of the image was installed in the reading room of the Fairmont Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa, where Karsh and his wife Estrellita had lived, and where he operated his studio, from 1972 until 1992. Jerry Fielder, the director of Karsh's estate, said that the print was and printed on lithographic paper. On August 19, 2022, it was discovered that this print had been stolen and replaced with a fake.[10] [11] A staff member noticed that the frame on the picture did not match the other five portraits in the lounge, which Karsh had also donated. Fielder identified this portrait as a forgery.
When the theft was discovered, it made headlines around the world. People sent in photos they had taken of The Roaring Lion in prior visits; these photos showed either the original or the fake and were able to be dated. By studying the photos, investigators were able to determine that the earliest photo of the fake was taken on January 6, 2022, and the latest photo of the original was taken on December 25, 2021, meaning that the theft occurred between those dates.[12]
Between December 25, 2021 and January 6, 2022, Ottawa was in COVID-19 lockdown. There were very few guests in the hotel, and the hotel had its own COVID outbreak. There were few staff members on duty and the hotel's bar and restaurant were closed. As people were not walking in off the street, investigators determined that the theft was carried out by someone who worked at the hotel.[12] the Château Laurier original signed print of The Roaring Lion remains missing.