A famous portrait of Winston Churchill has been stolen from a hotel in Canada and replaced with a fake in a “shameless” robbery that is being investigated by Canadian police.

“The Roaring Lion”, by Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941, is one of Churchill’s most famous photographs, taken when he addressed Parliament during World War II. The portrait had been hanging in the Châteu Laurier hotel in Octavia since 1998, according to The Times.

Last week, one of the hotel employees noticed that something was wrong as the photo frame did not match the others in the room. Martin Luther King Jr, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and Queen Elizabeth II herself were other personalities photographed, details The Guardian.

The hotel contacted police and it was Jerry Fielder, Karsh’s property manager, also called in to help with the investigation, who confirmed that the signature on the photograph was fake. “I saw that signature for 43 years. It took me a second to realize it was fake and someone tried to copy it. I couldn’t believe this had happened, the photograph had been there for so long and was part of the hotel, it’s very shocking and sad,” Fielder told the morning show. ottawa morning from CBC Radio.

In a statement, hotel staff said they were “deeply saddened” and called this robbery “brazen.” In addition, they add that they are very proud to have a “dazzling” collection of fifteen works by the photographer who had a great connection with the place. Karsh first exhibited at the hotel in 1936 and died on the third floor of it. There was also a studio there until 1992, on the sixth floor, Fielder revealed to the same source.

“Desire [quem o levou] return it, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he added.

It is not known exactly how long ago the photograph may have been replaced, and according to The Times, the last time Fielder confirmed the veracity of the exposed portrait was in July 2019.

The Guardian reports that for security reasons, the team has decided to remove the remaining portraits from the reading room until their full protection can be guaranteed.

Geneviéve Dumas, manager of the Châteu Laurier, explains to the same newspaper that the team is still waiting for information about the theft, so “it will not make any further comments, as the situation is under investigation.”

The iconic moment of the photo “The roaring lion”

After attending the parliamentary speech in 1941, Karsh waited in the speakers’ room for an opportunity to take a portrait of Churchill and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King. As the two entered the room arm in arm, Karsh remembers hearing the head of the British government “grow up”.

In a testimony from Fielder, who worked with the photographer, The Guardian adds that Karsh remembers the figure of Churchill lighting a cigarette and smoking it in front of him with a “malicious air” until finally giving up a single photograph.

The portrait went viral and was even used on British five pound notes in 2016. In that regard, Karsh’s estate manager made it very clear that printing of the photographer’s work is not allowed as his “negatives” were given to Karsh. . Library and Archives Canada in the 1990s. “We don’t allow copies,” Fielder tells The Guardian.