Theft Of The Week (11)

The keen eyes of a member of staff noticed that there was something different about the photograph of a scowling Winston Churchill. It had been taken by the famous Canadian photographer, Yousuf Karsh, in 1941 when Churchill visited Canada and had been presented to the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa in 1998 where it has hung in a room ever since.

The staff member noticed that the frame around the photograph did not match those of the other five in the room and immediately alerted the manager. The hotel contacted Jerry Fielder, who oversees Karsh’s estate, and he immediately confirmed that the signature was a fake. It seems that a person or persons unknown swapped the genuine Karsh photo for a fake, although the hotel have no idea when the audacious change was made.

The Ottawa police are looking into matters.

If you have a large photo of a baby hanging in your room, make sure you inspect it thoroughly. After all, all babies look like Winston Churchill!