“The Roaring Lion” Is Back

Today (November 15th) is very special. It is on this day that the Fairmont Château Laurier lifted the black curtain on the Yousuf Karsh portrait that had been stolen from the Château sometime between late December 2021 and early January 2022. That precise information will be revealed to all of us when the accused thief, Jeffrey Wood, goes on trial for his alleged crimes relating to the theft.

As readers of this website will know, the news of the theft rocketed around the world, as well it might have. The iconic Karsh photograph of the British Prime Minister has been, over the past 83 years, one of the most famous photographic portraits of any individual ever published.

The story of the cigar plucked by Karsh from Churchill’s mouth is well-known, so I need not repeat it here. Suffice it to say for the moment that this often described “scowling” visage became the image that the world favoured of the wartime Prime Minister. As writer James L. McConaughy, Jr., characterized the result of the snatched cigar (in his 1947 article):

As Churchill's face flamed with stubbornness and indignation, Karsh clicked the shutter. The result was an immortal portrait, looked on as an eloquent symbol of British doggedness during the war's bleakest days.

Yousuf Karsh and his wife Estrellita lived at the Château for decades and his photographic portraits were on revered display for many many years (they still are, long after his death in 2002), but there can be little doubt that his Churchill was the most visited and admired of his works. And then suddenly it was stolen ! The world was in shock.

And now, just days short of the 150th anniversary of his birth (on November 30th), it was recovered and restored to the walls of Zoe’s Lounge in the Château where it had hung.

The grand Ottawa hotel in which it is now again displayed celebrated the return of “The Roaring Lion” in respectful but enthusiastic fashion, in the presence of the Mayor of the City of Ottawa, the Federal Deputy Minister, Detective Geller, and the dedicated Fairmont Château Laurier staff who ensured the reinstatement of the Karsh Churchill, as well as a limited number of members of the public.

Two members of the Board of Directors of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa, Colin Smith and Ron Cohen, were privileged to attend the Press Conference. Sorry about the television stations / networks klieg lights.

It need hardly be said that the security of the new installation of The Roaring Lion is formidable. The enthusiasm and applause by those in attendance were genuine and prolonged.

Zoe’s Lounge will also offer their newest Scotch blend - Château Laurier Lion’s Roar Whisky. Don’t miss it !

Members of the public will be able to visit The Roaring Lion beginning Monday, December 18th. No-one will be disappointed to see the dominant portrait, where it should be. It is the most accessible copy of the Karsh Churchill anywhere in the world, and beautifully displayed.

Members of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa will also shortly be celebrating the 150th Churchill birthday at a talk given by American author James Conroy at the British High Commission, based on his superb work on the January 1943 Casablanca Conference, at which Churchill and FDR mapped out the strategy to end the War, The Devils Will Get No Rest.