The Iconic Image of Winston Churchill During the Darkest Days of World War II, Taken by Yousuf Karsh, and Boldly Signed by Churchill

An extreme rarity, this is just the second such signed Churchill/Karsh image we have ever had

Shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, British Prime Minister Churchill determined to travel to America to show solidarity, and also to meet President Roosevelt and to do some needed planning for the war. He stopped over in Canada on the trip, and on December 30, 1941, spoke to the Canadian Parliament, giving a famous speech in which he related French defeatism and his response: “When I warned them that Britain would fight on alone, whatever they did, their Generals told their Prime Minister and his divided cabinet that in three weeks, England would have her neck wrung like a chicken – Some chicken! Some neck!”. Following this speech Canada’s Prime Minister Mackenzie King arranged for renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh to set up his equipment in the Speaker’s Chamber and photograph Churchill. Not forewarned, Churchill lit up a cigar and growled, “Why was I not told of this?” but consented to a brief session. Karsh asked him to remove the cigar and, when he didn’t, stepped forward and gently removed it with the comment, “Forgive me, Sir.” Churchill glowered as the shot was taken, then permitted Karsh to take still another, jokingly commenting, “You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed.” The first photograph, which showed a defiant and resolute Winston Churchill, became synonymous with the courageous image of wartime England. It is sometimes called the Roaring Lion, and is probably the most famous portrait photograph ever taken.

This is a 9 by 12 inch print of this famous Karsh photograph, the very portrait described above, with the Karsh insignia and copyright reading “Karsh, Ottawa” at lower left, signed in ink by Churchill. Below the image is printed “The Right Honorable Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, PC CH OM”. PC indicates his being a member of the Privy Council, OM stands for the Order of Merit, and CH the Companions of Honor.

Karsh later wrote, “My portrait of Winston Churchill changed my life. I knew after I had taken it that it was an important picture, but I could hardly have dreamed that it would become one of the most widely reproduced images in the history of photography.”

This is an extreme rarity, being just the second such Churchill/Karsh signed image we have ever had. The previous one sold in 2006.