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Sunday Express
March 31, 2013
Edition 1; National Edition
Man who stole Winston's cigar
Books Review: A new book examines the legacy of photographer Yousuf
Karsh who pictured every major 20th century figure, as Clair Woodward
discovers
by Clair Woodward
POSSIBLY the most iconic image of Winston Churchill was taken by the
photographer Yousuf Karsh in December 1941. It shows his toughness,
his determination and his strength as a war leader and his indomitable
character. It also shows how irritated he was that Karsh had just
taken away the beloved cigar he had been chomping on moments earlier.
Not many other photographers would have the chutzpah to approach the
great man with an ashtray and say "May I?" and when Churchill refused
to give up his smoke, pluck the cigar from his lips.
It was this charm which gave Karsh the ability to get that little bit
extra from his subjects and make him one of the most successful
photographers of the last century. These brilliant photographs are
featured in a new book of his work. Politicians, royalty and the
biggest celebrities were pictured by the man who became known as Karsh
of Ottowa; but his origins were far from north America.
Yousuf Karsh was born in Armenia in 1908. During the First World War
the Armenians were horribly persecuted bythe Turks. As a child, Karsh
saw his sister die of typhus; two of his uncles were tortured and
murdered in prison and he saw carnage all around him.
His family escaped to Syria and in order to give young Yousuf a better
start in life, sent him to live with his uncle Nakash in Canada.
Nakash was a photographer and although Yousuf originally wanted to be
a doctor, he became caught up with photography and showed great
promise. He was apprenticed to the photographer H Garo in Boston but
returned to Ottawa in1931 to set up his own studio and took pictures
at the Little Theatre in the city.
It was there that he discovered the impact that theatrical lighting
could have on his photographs, and he developed his signature dramatic
style. It wasn't just that which made Karsh so in demand as a
photographer, it was his personal charm which brought out that little
bit extra from his sitters.
In the new book, its editor Jochen Siemens writes: "The young Karsh
was also a kind of entertainer or therapist. He talked a lot, was
charming, beguiled the women in front of his camera and conversed with
men in such great depth that they didn't even notice he was taking
their photograph."
OF HIS sitters, Karsh said that his job was "highlighting the great
men and women who deserve to enter the higher echelons of humankind."
The 1941 Churchill portrait made his name and, two years later, Karsh
visited London to photograph politicians, exiled European heads of
state, soldiers, artists and writers and the young Princess Elizabeth,
whom he would portray time and time again in subsequent years, in some
of her best-known portraits.
Before his retirement in 1992, Karsh's portfolio contained portraits
of every major world figure: President Kennedy, Humphrey Bogart,
Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Audrey Hepburn.
Karsh died in Boston in 2002, leaving a unique photographic legacy of
the 20th century.
Stern Fotographie - Yousouf Karsh is published by TENEUEs at £26.95.
You can order your copy with free UK delivery from the Express
Bookshop on 0871 988 8366 or online at expressbookshop.com
March 31, 2013
Edition 1; National Edition
Man who stole Winston's cigar
Books Review: A new book examines the legacy of photographer Yousuf
Karsh who pictured every major 20th century figure, as Clair Woodward
discovers
by Clair Woodward
POSSIBLY the most iconic image of Winston Churchill was taken by the
photographer Yousuf Karsh in December 1941. It shows his toughness,
his determination and his strength as a war leader and his indomitable
character. It also shows how irritated he was that Karsh had just
taken away the beloved cigar he had been chomping on moments earlier.
Not many other photographers would have the chutzpah to approach the
great man with an ashtray and say "May I?" and when Churchill refused
to give up his smoke, pluck the cigar from his lips.
It was this charm which gave Karsh the ability to get that little bit
extra from his subjects and make him one of the most successful
photographers of the last century. These brilliant photographs are
featured in a new book of his work. Politicians, royalty and the
biggest celebrities were pictured by the man who became known as Karsh
of Ottowa; but his origins were far from north America.
Yousuf Karsh was born in Armenia in 1908. During the First World War
the Armenians were horribly persecuted bythe Turks. As a child, Karsh
saw his sister die of typhus; two of his uncles were tortured and
murdered in prison and he saw carnage all around him.
His family escaped to Syria and in order to give young Yousuf a better
start in life, sent him to live with his uncle Nakash in Canada.
Nakash was a photographer and although Yousuf originally wanted to be
a doctor, he became caught up with photography and showed great
promise. He was apprenticed to the photographer H Garo in Boston but
returned to Ottawa in1931 to set up his own studio and took pictures
at the Little Theatre in the city.
It was there that he discovered the impact that theatrical lighting
could have on his photographs, and he developed his signature dramatic
style. It wasn't just that which made Karsh so in demand as a
photographer, it was his personal charm which brought out that little
bit extra from his sitters.
In the new book, its editor Jochen Siemens writes: "The young Karsh
was also a kind of entertainer or therapist. He talked a lot, was
charming, beguiled the women in front of his camera and conversed with
men in such great depth that they didn't even notice he was taking
their photograph."
OF HIS sitters, Karsh said that his job was "highlighting the great
men and women who deserve to enter the higher echelons of humankind."
The 1941 Churchill portrait made his name and, two years later, Karsh
visited London to photograph politicians, exiled European heads of
state, soldiers, artists and writers and the young Princess Elizabeth,
whom he would portray time and time again in subsequent years, in some
of her best-known portraits.
Before his retirement in 1992, Karsh's portfolio contained portraits
of every major world figure: President Kennedy, Humphrey Bogart,
Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Audrey Hepburn.
Karsh died in Boston in 2002, leaving a unique photographic legacy of
the 20th century.
Stern Fotographie - Yousouf Karsh is published by TENEUEs at £26.95.
You can order your copy with free UK delivery from the Express
Bookshop on 0871 988 8366 or online at expressbookshop.com