‘Roaring Lion’ Churchill Portrait Retrieved from Italy after Canada Theft

 Canadian Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou unveils Yousuf Karsh's "Roaring Lion" portrait of Churchill, stolen in 2022 from Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau Laurier and recovered in Italy, during a ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome, Italy, September 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Canadian Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou unveils Yousuf Karsh's "Roaring Lion" portrait of Churchill, stolen in 2022 from Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau Laurier and recovered in Italy, during a ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome, Italy, September 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Roaring Lion’ Churchill Portrait Retrieved from Italy after Canada Theft

 Canadian Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou unveils Yousuf Karsh's "Roaring Lion" portrait of Churchill, stolen in 2022 from Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau Laurier and recovered in Italy, during a ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome, Italy, September 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Canadian Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou unveils Yousuf Karsh's "Roaring Lion" portrait of Churchill, stolen in 2022 from Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau Laurier and recovered in Italy, during a ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome, Italy, September 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Italy handed back to Canada on Thursday a famous photographic portrait of Winston Churchill that was stolen from an Ottawa hotel more than two years ago and sold at auction to an unsuspecting Italian lawyer.

The so-called "Roaring Lion" photograph was shot by Yousuf Karsh in 1941 just after Britain's World War Two leader had given a speech to the Canadian parliament.

With his hand on his hip, Churchill is seen scowling severely at the lens -- an expression that Karsh put down to the fact that he had just plucked a cigar from the prime minister's hand before releasing the shutter.

The picture hanged for years in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel, where the Armenian-Canadian photographer used to have a studio, but staff realized in August 2022 that their original image had been replaced with a signed copy.

A subsequent investigation found that their version had gone missing during the 2021 Christmas holidays and had been sold by an auction house in London in May 2022 to lawyer Nicola Cassinelli, who agreed to return it when he found out the truth.

"I think that if Mr. Karsh donated it to the hotel, it means that he really wanted it to stay there," Cassinelli said during a ceremony in the Canadian embassy to return the work.

He said he had paid 5,200 pounds ($6,895) excluding commission at the auction and had received only a partial refund. "I didn't get all the money back, but I did get a very funny story to tell," said Cassinelli.

The hotel director said the photo was an iconic image and an integral part of its history. "Its value far exceeded its monetary worth," said Geneviève Dumas.

Canadian media said a man from Ontario had been arrested and charged over the theft.



Egypt Opens More Galleries in Long-Awaited Antiquities Museum

A King Ramses II statue displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum during the trial partial operation in Giza, Egypt, 15 October 2024. (EPA)
A King Ramses II statue displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum during the trial partial operation in Giza, Egypt, 15 October 2024. (EPA)
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Egypt Opens More Galleries in Long-Awaited Antiquities Museum

A King Ramses II statue displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum during the trial partial operation in Giza, Egypt, 15 October 2024. (EPA)
A King Ramses II statue displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum during the trial partial operation in Giza, Egypt, 15 October 2024. (EPA)

Egypt opened a series of galleries to the public on Tuesday in its flagship new museum, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), located near the pyramids of Giza.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly last week announced a "trial opening" ahead of a formal inauguration. Egyptian officials say a number of world leaders have expressed interest in attending the official opening but have not indicated when this will take place.

Pharaonic statues are showcased at the Grand Staircase of the Grand Egyptian Museum during a partial trial in Giza, Egypt, October 15, 2024. (Reuters)

The museum's main entrance hall with its stairway of Pharaonic statues and an annex for commercial shopping opened to the public in February 2023.

Ali Abu Al-Shish, a member of the Egyptian Archaeologists Union who attended Tuesday's opening of almost a dozen galleries, said the trial operation of the vast museum was evidence Egypt now had the space to exhibit its antiquities, including those being returned by Western states and museums.

It's an "important message that we can recover our antiquities, which are spread across various countries in the world," he said.

Visiting Russian tourist Kseniia Muse said: "We are so happy to be here, to have visited these beautiful sculptures... It is very modern and at the same time you can touch the ancient."

Pharaonic statues are displayed at the Grand Staircase of the Grand Egyptian Museum during a partial trial in Giza, Egypt, October 15, 2024. (Reuters)

Tourism is an important source of foreign currency revenue for Egypt. The government has been trying to increase tourist numbers after facing a long-running foreign currency shortage that was exacerbated by external shocks.

Until now, Egypt's most famous collections have been housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has been largely unmodernized and unrenovated since opening in 1902.