Stolen in Canada the most iconic portrait of Winston Churchill

'The roaring lion', the portrait of Winston Churchill that was stolen from a hotel in Canada. Yousuf Karsh

Police in the city of Ottawa investigate the theft of one of the most famous photographs of Winston Churchill.

The image, taken in 1941 and baptized as “the roaring lion”, had been on display since 1998 in one of the halls of the Château Laurier hotel in the Canadian capital.

However, employees of the enclosure realized last Friday that it had been replaced by a copy.

The frame did not correspond to the original.

Also, the signature of the photographer, Yousuf Karsh, was apocryphal.

Karsh's heirs confirmed these abnormal elements.

The value of this work exceeds -according to some experts- 100,000 dollars, although the price is difficult to establish due to its historical importance.

The administration of the hotel and the police asked this week for the collaboration of the citizens.

This call is beginning to bear fruit: it was possible to verify -thanks to photographs shared by different visitors- that the original piece appeared on December 25, but other images show that 12 days later it had already been replaced by the copy.

Geneviève Dumas, general manager of the Château Laurier told

that special tools are required to remove the work, so she is sure it was a theft carried out by a professional.

“The thief knew what he was doing,” she stated.

The photograph was taken on December 30, 1941, following Winston Churchill's speech to Canadian parliamentarians.

The image appeared on the cover of

magazine in May 1945 and since 2016 it has appeared on the reverse of the five pound sterling note.

The iconic postcard of the British Prime Minister came from the lens of Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002), a Canadian photographer of Armenian origin recognized for his portraits of great figures of the 20th century.

Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth II, Pablo Picasso, Grace Kelly, Martin Luther King, Helen Keller and Mohamed Ali, among others, were photographed by Karsh with remarkable talent.

On that wintry day in 1941, Winston Churchill on Parliament Hill thanked the Canadian people for all the war efforts in the "common cause," stressing that the Allies were dedicated to "the total and final eradication of the tyranny of Hitler, the frenzy Japanese and the failure of Mussolini”.

After the speech, the British prime minister agreed to have his photograph taken in another room of the legislative chamber.

According to Karsh's testimony that appears on the website of the heritage agency of his work, Churchill did not detach himself from the pure characteristic of him.

"Then I approached him and, without premeditation, but with great respect, I said: 'Excuse me, sir,' and I took the cigar out of his mouth," he said.

“When I got back into my chamber, it seemed so belligerent it could have eaten me.

It was at that moment that I took the picture,” he added.

The portrait of the politician gave Yousuf Karsh international renown.

Karsh lived 18 years in one of the rooms of the Château Laurier.

Six of his works were exhibited in the same room of the hotel, but after the theft of the one known as "the roaring lion", the others remain protected until the security measures are optimal.

Police investigations continue to recover this piece appreciated by Canadians, British and photography lovers from around the world.

Geneviève Dumas has asked buyers to be vigilant.

“Did someone try to sell you an image of Winston Churchill?

Well, maybe it was ours that disappeared,” she pointed out.

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