Yousuf Karsh (Armenian/Canadian, born December 23, 1908–died July 13, 2002) is considered to be one of the most accomplished portrait photographers of all time. Born in Mardin, Turkey, Karsh experienced harsh persecution as a child, and fled to Canada in 1924, at the age of 16. From 1928 to 1931, he worked as an apprentice to a Boston painter and portrait photographer, and briefly attended art school. Returning to Canada in 1932, he was employed by an Ottawa photographer, whose studio Karsh took over after his employer retired.
Success came quickly for Karsh, who was appointed official portrait photographer of the Canadian government in 1935. Following his first solo exhibition in 1936 in the Drawing Room of the Château Laurier hotel, Karsh began photographing portraits of dignitaries who were visiting Canada’s seat of government near the studio. His photograph of Winston Churchill—which appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1941—won Karsh worldwide acclaim, and is thought to be the most reproduced photographic portrait in history. He went on to photograph some of the world’s most prominent political and cultural figures, such as Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, and Princess Grace of Monaco.
In particular, the artist became known for his mastery of studio lighting, frequently using dramatic contrasts to highlight his subjects’ faces and hands. In 1967, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and, in 1990, was promoted to Companion.
Following his retirement, Karsh moved to Boston in 1997, where he died at the age of 93. Today, his works can be found in prominent collections worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Royal Collection in London, among others. Books of his photographs include Faces of Destiny (1946), Portraits of Greatness (1959), In Search of Greatness (1962), Faces of Our Time (1971), Karsh Canadians (1978), and Karsh: A Sixty-Year Retrospective(1996).
Success came quickly for Karsh, who was appointed official portrait photographer of the Canadian government in 1935. Following his first solo exhibition in 1936 in the Drawing Room of the Château Laurier hotel, Karsh began photographing portraits of dignitaries who were visiting Canada’s seat of government near the studio. His photograph of Winston Churchill—which appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1941—won Karsh worldwide acclaim, and is thought to be the most reproduced photographic portrait in history. He went on to photograph some of the world’s most prominent political and cultural figures, such as Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, and Princess Grace of Monaco.
In particular, the artist became known for his mastery of studio lighting, frequently using dramatic contrasts to highlight his subjects’ faces and hands. In 1967, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and, in 1990, was promoted to Companion.
Following his retirement, Karsh moved to Boston in 1997, where he died at the age of 93. Today, his works can be found in prominent collections worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Royal Collection in London, among others. Books of his photographs include Faces of Destiny (1946), Portraits of Greatness (1959), In Search of Greatness (1962), Faces of Our Time (1971), Karsh Canadians (1978), and Karsh: A Sixty-Year Retrospective(1996).