A staff member at Ottawa's storied Château Laurier recently noticed that a famous portrait of Winston Churchill hanging in the hotel's Reading Lounge was a replica and not the original that was placed there in 1998, the CBC has reported.
It is unclear exactly how long ago the original was stolen.
The replica caught the attention of the employee at the hotel, located a short distance from Parliament Hill, because the worker noticed its frame was not hung as properly as usual and did not match those of the other five portraits in the lounge, all of which were taken by famed portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh.
Karsh took the photo, known as "The Roaring Lion," in 1941 when the then-British prime minister was in Ottawa to give a speech to Parliament during World War II.
Karsh famously took a cigar out of Churchill's mouth before taking the shot, with the photographer recalling in later years that by the time he returned to his camera, Churchill looked "so belligerent he could have devoured me — it was in that instant that I took the photograph," according to the BBC.
The photograph remains the picture on the Bank of England's £5 note.
After realizing something was possibly wrong with the photo hanging on the wall, the Château Laurier's general manager called Jerry Fielder, who was hired by Karsh in 1979 and is now director of his estate, according to the CBC.
The work that was supposed to be hanging there was made from a negative and signed by Karsh, but when Fielder received a copy of the signature, he immediately knew it was a forgery.
The hotel then called the police, which is investigating the theft.
Fielder said that removing the original and replacing it "was obviously thought out and planned."
Michel Prévost, president of La Société d'histoire de l'Outaouais, said the situation was "like a movie. Famous hotel, and you have the security. And one of the most valuable portraits of your collection is stolen."
Prévost said that Karsh had a long connection to the hotel, as he and his first wife lived there for 18 years, and his studio was housed in the building until 1992,
The hotel said it has 15 original works by Karsh, six of which, including the Churchill portrait, were hanging in the lounge. However, the remaining five have been removed from the lounge until they can be better secured.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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