Winston S. Churchill Signed Photograph [Yousuf Karsh].

CHURCHILL, Winston S. [Yousuf Karsh].

Item Number: 130588

Matted and framed photograph of Karsh’s portrait of Churchill, with a card below signed, “Yours sincerely. Winston S. Churchill.” Laid down on a stock card and displayed in a mat underneath a large high-quality photo reproduction of Churchill’s iconic photograph, “The Roaring Lion.” The photograph measures 19.75 inches by 15.75 inches. The entire piece measures 32.25 inches by 28.75 inches. An exceptional piece.

In 1935, Yousuf Karsh "was appointed official portrait photographer of the Canadian government and in 1941 achieved international fame with his portrait of Winston Churchill" (Cleveland Museum of Art, Catalogue of Photography, 444). Karsh later wrote: "As a private citizen I approached Winston Churchill in 1941 with awe. He was more that a Great Man of the twentieth century: he was even more than an institution. He has become, and always will remains, a gigantic passage in human history... He marched in scowling and regarded my camera as he might regard the German enemy. His expression suited me perfectly, if I could capture it, but the cigar thrust between his teeth seemed somehow incompatible with such a solemn, formal occasion. Instinctively, I removed the cigar. At this time the Churchillian scowl deepened, the head was thrust forward belligerently, and the hand placed on the hip in an attitude of anger. So he stands in my portrait in what always seemed to me the image of England in those years, defiant and unconquerable (Karsh Portfolio, 34). Churchill later said to Karsh, “You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed,” which led Karsh to name the portrait “The Roaring Lion.”