Painters & Visual Artists Codexery

Yousuf Karsh

Armenian-Canadian portrait photographer of the 20th century.

Last updated

Yousuf Karsh

Chris Lund · via Wikipedia: Yousuf Karsh · Public domain

Born on December 23, 1908, Yousuf Karsh was a photographer of Armenian-Canadian heritage whose work focused on capturing portraits of famous people.[1] The 1941 image Karsh made of Winston Churchill became a pivotal moment in his professional life, earning him worldwide fame.[2]

Life and work

Karsh was born to Ottoman Armenian parents on December 23, 1908, in Mardin, Diyarbekir Vilayet.[3] In 1923, Karsh's parents arranged for him to immigrate to Canada at the age of fifteen.[4] His 1941 photo, The Roaring Lion, featuring British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, brought him international prominence.[5] Karsh's childhood occurred during the Armenian genocide, which involved forced relocation, lack of food, and encounters with brutality.[6]

On December 31, 1923, Karsh reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, after traveling by boat from Beirut.[4] Karsh's maternal uncle, George Nakashian, who worked as a portrait photographer, employed Karsh and instructed him in photography.[4] In 1928, Nakash organized for Karsh to go to Boston to work as an assistant to John H. Garo for additional training.[7] Karsh established his initial photography studio in 1932, situated on the second floor at 130 Sparks Street in Ottawa.[8]

Professionally, Karsh went by the name "Karsh of Ottawa".[8] In June 1992, Karsh shut down his Château Laurier studio.[9]

What the cited sources add

The Ottawa Citizen reported that Karsh came to Ottawa because he knew he would find the famous and powerful there.[10] Karsh wrote that he was always proud when the title "Karsh of Ottawa" appeared underneath his photographs.[10] The Guardian noted that Karsh learned photographic skills from his uncle, who gave him his first Kodak.[11] Karsh opened his own studio in Ottawa in 1932 when he was 24, according to The Guardian.[11]

The Art Canada Institute account states that Karsh apprenticed at John Garo's stylish studio in Boston before setting up his own studio in Ottawa in 1932.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Yousuf Karsh", The Economist, July 18, 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 4; "A Brief Biography", karsh.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 5; Gessell, "KARSH: The early years", Ottawa Citizen, September 1, 2009; Clifford, "Yousuf Karsh", People, March 1982; Crawford, "The Capital Builders: How 'Karsh of Ottawa' captured the world's most famous people in photos", Ottawa Citizen, May 14, 2017; Hopkinson, "Yousuf Karsh", The Guardian, July 15, 2002; "A Brief Biography", karsh.org; "A Brief Biography", karsh.org; Skidmore, "Yousuf Karsh", The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 14, 2010; "Yousuf Karsh, Who Photographed en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 66; Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 18; "Yousuf Karsh", The Daily Telegraph, July 15, 2002; Crawford, "The Capital Builders: How 'Karsh of Ottawa' captured the world's most famous people in photos", Ottawa Citizen, May 14, 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 4; "A Brief Biography", karsh.org; Adalian, "Historical Dictionary of Armenia", Scarecrow Press, 2010, p. 375; Crawford, "The Capital Builders: How 'Karsh of Ottawa' captured the world's most famous people in photos", Ottawa Citizen, May 14, 2017; "Yousuf Karsh", The Daily Telegraph, July 15, 2002; "Yousuf Karsh", The Economist, July 18, 2002; "Karsh Photo Still Enthralls Vartan Gregorian", Asbarez, November 10, 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 6; Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 8; Berman, "Yousuf Karsh's Masterful Portraits From Churchill to Hepburn", March 18, 2015; Thurber, "Yousuf Karsh, 93; Photographs Captured Face of 20th Century", Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2002; Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 18; Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 2025, p. 8; Rombout, "Yousuf Karsh: Life & Work", Art Canada Institute, 20 en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burant, "Ottawa Art & Artists: An Illustrated History", Art Canada Institute, 2022; Bassnett, "Photography in Canada, 1839–1989: An Illustrated History", Art Canada Institute, 2023; "Yousuf Karsh, Who Photographed Famous And Infamous of 20th Century, Dies at 93", The New York Times, July 14, 2002; Skidmore, "Yousuf Karsh", The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 14, 2010; Gessell, "KARSH: The early years", Ottawa Citizen, September 1, 2009; Skidmore, "Yousuf Karsh", The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 14, 2010; "Yousuf Karsh, C.C.", gg.ca, February en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Yousuf Karsh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Skidmore, "Yousuf Karsh", The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 14, 2010; "Sittings", karsh.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Crawford, "The Capital Builders: How 'Karsh of Ottawa' captured the world's most famous people in photos", Ottawa Citizen, May 14, 2017. facts only, no text reused. ottawacitizen.com
  11. Hopkinson, "Yousuf Karsh", The Guardian, July 15, 2002. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  12. Bassnett, "Photography in Canada, 1839–1989: An Illustrated History", Art Canada Institute, 2023. facts only, no text reused. aci-iac.ca

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Yousuf Karsh (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

The Economist

More in Painters & Visual Artists

Tyeb MehtaTô Ngọc VânUche OkekeUmberto BoccioniValentin SerovVasily VereshchaginViktor VasnetsovVito AcconciWen ZhengmingWhang-odWilliam EgglestonWilliam Holman Hunt

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →