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National Post (Canada)
January 15, 2008 Tuesday
National Edition
Captured By The Moment; These photographs helped make their subjects
legends, but a new biography suggests Yousuf Karsh was too iconic for
his own good
by Mark Medley, National Post
ARTS & LIFE; Pg. AL6
When we think of Winston Churchill, we often picture him standing
with his right hand resting on the back of a chair, his left hand on
his waist, a handkerchief flowering from a breast pocket, a bowtie
around his neck, a bulldog's scowl on his face. When we imagine
Albert Einstein, we see an older man with brushed-back, grey hair, a
fuzzy moustache hiding his upper lip, his hands clasped together as
if in prayer. When we pick up one of Ernest Hemingway's books, we
envision a bearded man, his neck engulfed by his sweater, staring
intently at something just off camera. When we think of these people
we think--perhaps unconsciously --of the portraits of Yousuf Karsh.
The Armenian-born Canadian photographer is the subject of a new
biography by Governor General's Award-winning historian Maria Tippett
entitled Portrait in Light and Shadow: The Life of Yousuf Karsh.
Karsh is one of Canada's most important artists; indeed, when the
International Who's Who picked the most influential people of the
20th century, not only was he the lone photographer and the sole
Canadian representative, but he had photographed more than half the
people on the list.
Says Tippett: "He was able to capture that moment; as Cartier-Bresson
called it, that decisive moment."
Strange, then, that when you look up the most expensive photographs
ever sold, Karsh's name is absent from the likes of Mapplethorpe,
Arbus and Adams.
He has, Tippett admits, "fallen out of fashion." On the other hand,
his images are still regularly published, to the point that we often
don't recognize them as his work.
"That's the brilliance of Karsh," says Tippett of this dichotomy.
"We've come to accept the Hemingway, the Einstein, the Churchill, the
George Bernard Shaw. These are visual images that are in our memory ...
but you may not know Yousuf Karsh did that."
Tippett contacted Karsh in 1998, seeking to write his biography.
Karsh -- who penned his own autobiography, In Search of Greatness --
declined. After his death in 2002, Tippett sought permission from his
estate. This time she was given the green light.
Tippett had a wealth of documentary evidence at her disposal; before
his death, Karsh had donated about 400 boxes to the National
Archives. "This [was] a biographer's dream."
She spent two years researching, travelling to places Karsh visited
and interviewing his friends, colleagues and family. She also brushed
up on the craft in order to gain a better understanding of his work,
spending time in the photography lab at Cambridge, where she used to
teach.
This year is Karsh's centenary, and numerous exhibitions are planned
in the U.S. Yet, Tippett points out, only one will be mounted in
Canada. This reinforces the perception that perhaps he's more
celebrated abroad than here at home. Tippett compares it with the
ongoing problems in establishing a National Portrait Gallery. "That
says something, doesn't it? We can't even establish a National
Portrait Gallery. How in the heck is your generation going to know
about Karsh?
"My God," she asks. "Why aren't we celebrating this man?" - Portrait
in Light and Shadow: The Life of Yousuf Karsh by Maria Tippett is
published by Anansi ($39.95).
January 15, 2008 Tuesday
National Edition
Captured By The Moment; These photographs helped make their subjects
legends, but a new biography suggests Yousuf Karsh was too iconic for
his own good
by Mark Medley, National Post
ARTS & LIFE; Pg. AL6
When we think of Winston Churchill, we often picture him standing
with his right hand resting on the back of a chair, his left hand on
his waist, a handkerchief flowering from a breast pocket, a bowtie
around his neck, a bulldog's scowl on his face. When we imagine
Albert Einstein, we see an older man with brushed-back, grey hair, a
fuzzy moustache hiding his upper lip, his hands clasped together as
if in prayer. When we pick up one of Ernest Hemingway's books, we
envision a bearded man, his neck engulfed by his sweater, staring
intently at something just off camera. When we think of these people
we think--perhaps unconsciously --of the portraits of Yousuf Karsh.
The Armenian-born Canadian photographer is the subject of a new
biography by Governor General's Award-winning historian Maria Tippett
entitled Portrait in Light and Shadow: The Life of Yousuf Karsh.
Karsh is one of Canada's most important artists; indeed, when the
International Who's Who picked the most influential people of the
20th century, not only was he the lone photographer and the sole
Canadian representative, but he had photographed more than half the
people on the list.
Says Tippett: "He was able to capture that moment; as Cartier-Bresson
called it, that decisive moment."
Strange, then, that when you look up the most expensive photographs
ever sold, Karsh's name is absent from the likes of Mapplethorpe,
Arbus and Adams.
He has, Tippett admits, "fallen out of fashion." On the other hand,
his images are still regularly published, to the point that we often
don't recognize them as his work.
"That's the brilliance of Karsh," says Tippett of this dichotomy.
"We've come to accept the Hemingway, the Einstein, the Churchill, the
George Bernard Shaw. These are visual images that are in our memory ...
but you may not know Yousuf Karsh did that."
Tippett contacted Karsh in 1998, seeking to write his biography.
Karsh -- who penned his own autobiography, In Search of Greatness --
declined. After his death in 2002, Tippett sought permission from his
estate. This time she was given the green light.
Tippett had a wealth of documentary evidence at her disposal; before
his death, Karsh had donated about 400 boxes to the National
Archives. "This [was] a biographer's dream."
She spent two years researching, travelling to places Karsh visited
and interviewing his friends, colleagues and family. She also brushed
up on the craft in order to gain a better understanding of his work,
spending time in the photography lab at Cambridge, where she used to
teach.
This year is Karsh's centenary, and numerous exhibitions are planned
in the U.S. Yet, Tippett points out, only one will be mounted in
Canada. This reinforces the perception that perhaps he's more
celebrated abroad than here at home. Tippett compares it with the
ongoing problems in establishing a National Portrait Gallery. "That
says something, doesn't it? We can't even establish a National
Portrait Gallery. How in the heck is your generation going to know
about Karsh?
"My God," she asks. "Why aren't we celebrating this man?" - Portrait
in Light and Shadow: The Life of Yousuf Karsh by Maria Tippett is
published by Anansi ($39.95).