Long-lost Winston Churchill photo stolen in Canada finally rediscovered – in Italy

Famous photograph of Winston Churchill known as “The Roaring Lion” that was stolen two years ago has been found

A famous photograph of Winston Churchill known as “The Roaring Lion” that was stolen two years ago has been found.

The original portrait, which was nabbed from the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa, Canada and replaced with a fake, was discovered in Italy. The 1941 portrait of the British leader taken by Yousuf Karsh is being prepared for its return across the Atlantic.

Canadian police said the portrait was stolen from the hotel sometime between Christmas 2021 and January 6, 2022, and replaced with a forgery. The swap was only uncovered months later, in August, when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly and looked different than the others. Nicola Cassinelli, a lawyer in Genoa, Italy, purchased the portrait in May 2022 at an online Sotheby’s auction for £5,292.

He said he got a phone call from the auction house that October advising him not to sell or otherwise transfer the portrait due to an investigation into the Ottawa theft. Cassinelli, who attended Thursday’s ceremony, said he thought he was buying a regular print and quickly agreed to send the iconic Churchill photograph home when he learned its true story.

“I immediately decided to return it to the Chateau Laurier because I think that if Karsh donated it to the hotel, it means he really wanted it to stay there, for the particular significance this hotel had for him and for his wife too,” Cassinelli said.

Karsh took the famous image during Churchill’s wartime visit to the Canadian Parliament in December 1941. It helped launch Karsh’s career, who photographed some of the 20th century’s most famed icons, including Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein and Queen Elizabeth.

Karsh and his wife Estrellita gifted an original signed print to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in 1998. The couple had lived and operated a studio inside the hotel for nearly two decades.

Geneviève Dumas, general manager of the Fairmont Château Laurier, said on Thursday she felt immensely grateful. “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everybody involved in solving this case and ensuring the safe return of this priceless piece of history.”

Police arrested a 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ontario, in April and have charged him with stealing and trafficking the portrait. The man, whose name is protected by a publication ban, faces charges that include forgery, theft of more than £3,750 and trafficking in property obtained by crime exceeding £3,750.