Winston Churchill
Photographer: Yousuf Karsh
Date: December 30, 1941
Location: Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Yousuf Karsh photographed Winston Churchill in the Speaker's Chamber of the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, on December 30, 1941, minutes after Churchill had addressed the Canadian Parliament. Churchill arrived cigar in hand and was reluctant to pose. When the photographer asked him to remove the cigar and Churchill refused, Karsh reached over and plucked it from his lips. Churchill's resulting expression — jaw set, eyes glaring — was the image Karsh captured in the next instant. Karsh described it as Churchill's 'roaring lion' look. The photograph appeared on the cover of Life magazine in May 1945. It became one of the most famous and widely reproduced photographic portraits in history, selling approximately 100,000 prints. Karsh called it the most satisfying portrait he had ever made.
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