1946
Yousuf Karsh’s portrait of Winston Churchill used on the British ￡5 note is the most famous of his many definitive photographs of the men and women who shaped the 20th century.
Born in 1908 in the Ottoman Empire, Karsh escaped the Armenian genocide in 1922 by fleeing on foot to Syria. His father then sent him to Canada, where Karsh’s uncle worked as a photographer in Sherbrooke, Quebec. There Karsh learned photography and later took an apprenticeship with Boston painter and portrait photographer John H. Garo. Karsh opened his photography studio in 1931 and began working for the Ottawa Little Theatre. He had his journalism breakthrough in 1936 when he documented a meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.
In 1941, his portrait of Winston Churchill with an expression of serious, steady resolve was used as the cover of LIFE magazine. The issue was credited with increasing American public support for WWII. His prolific portraiture would go on to include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Fidel Castro, Albert Einstein, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alfred Hitchcock and more.
He was an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of London, a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and an officer of the Order of Canada. In 2002, he passed away at the age of 93.
His work is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the National Portrait Gallery in London and many others. His honors included the Canada Council Medal, the United States Presidential Citation, a Gold Medal from the Canadian Association of Photographic Art and the Achievement and Life Award from Encyclopedia Britannica.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of original Yousef Karsh photography.
Albert Einstein
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Karsh is a master 20th Century photographer. Karsh is known for his portraits of authors, scientists, artists, statesmen, musicians, and other dis...
Silver Gelatin
Lella, Bretagne, 1947
By Edouard Boubat
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Signed in ink on recto; Signed, titled and dated in pencil on verso Gelatin Silver Print Image 11 x 14", Paper 12 x 16", Mat 16x20"
Silver Gelatin
Henry Moore
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Karsh is a master 20th Century photographer. Karsh is known for his portraits of authors, scientists, artists, statesmen, musicians, and other dis...
Silver Gelatin
Lisa "Hair", 1939
By Horst P. Horst
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Horst P. Horst 1906-1999 Lisa "Hair", 1939 (Printed Later) Signed, Titled and Dated in pencil on verso. Stamped on recto Platinum/Palladium Print Image - 7x9", Paper - 11"x14" Editio...
Platinum
San Francisco Ballet Backstage
By Fred Lyon
Located in Santa Monica, CA
signed, titled, dated by artist in pencil, verso (c) The Estate of Fred Lyon Courtesy. Peter Fetterman Gallery
Silver Gelatin
La 6cv Des Vacances, 1951
By Robert Doisneau
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Robert Doisneau 1912-1994 La 6cv Des Vacances, 1951 Signed in ink on recto. Titled and dated in pen on verso. gelatin silver print Image: 9 3/4 x 11.5", Paper: 12 x 16 inches
Silver Gelatin
The Marx Brothers - Vintage b/w Photograph - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Marx Brothers in a scene from the movie "Horse Feathers" by Norman Z.Mc Leod. Good condition.
Photographic Paper
Artef Yiddish Theater Photograph
Located in Surfside, FL
Alfredo Valente (1899-1973) was an Italian born American photographer known for his prolific career chronicling Broadway theatre. He is also credited as a singer, painter, art collector, dealer, and cultural administrator. Valente was born in Calabria, Italy where he trained as a fine artist and opera singer. In 1927, he immigrated to the United States where he performed opera in public. However, his singing career did not take off and he pivoted to focus on his photography. In 1931, he became the photographer for the newly formed Group Theater, an experimental theater company based in New York co-founded by Lee Strasberg. By the mid-1930s, Valente was regularly published by magazines and newspapers, most notably Stage, a magazine dedicated to Broadway theater. Valente was lauded as one of the leading theater photographers of the day and his use of artistic camera angles and dramatic lighting became his signature. He also became known for portraying actors and dancers in costume, but not while performing. In addition to Broadway, Valente photographed American Ballet Theatre (then known as Ballet Theatre) during the company's formative years during the 1940s. He photographed some of Ballet Theatre's most prominent dancers, such as Harold Lang...
Photographic Paper
Groucho Marx - Vintage Photograph - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Groucho Marx- Vintage Photo is a black-and-white photograph, realized in the 1960s. Good condition.
Photographic Paper
Groucho Marx - Vintage Photograph - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Groucho Marx is a black and white photograph realized in the 1950s. Good conditions.
Photographic Paper
Andy Warhol - Promotional card: Marx Brothers - Hand Signed by Warhol, Framed
By Andy Warhol
Located in New York, NY
Offset lithograph promotional card Hand signed in black marker on the front Provenance: Estate of artist Joseph O'Sickey This elegantly scaled promotional card, which is, exceptional...
Lithograph, Offset
Groucho Marx - Vintage Photograph - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Groucho Marx- Vintage Photo is a black-and-white photograph, realized in the 1960s. Good condition.
Photographic Paper
The French photographer transformed everyday encounters into enduring images of shared experience.
In 1962, the photographer took fashion out of the studio and into Manhattan traffic.
