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.
Georgia O'Keeffe
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Printed later circa 1980-90s. Excellent condition. The piece does NOT include the frame. Frame shown just for reference. From the esta...
Silver Gelatin
Jacques Cousteau
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed on mount recto. Stamped, signed and dated on mount verso. Edition 31/100 - from the Karsh Portfolio (no longer available from the Estate as a single original print). Please co...
Silver Gelatin
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
Robert Oppenheimer
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
$1,800
Sculptor Jacques Lipchitz Photograph Portrait Yousuf Karsh Photo Vintage Print
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Surfside, FL
YOUSUF KARSH Vintage Photograph of Sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, Dimensions: sight 13 x 10-1/2 overall size is 16.5 X 14 inches mat This bears a studio stamp verso inscribed Copyright...
Photographic Paper
Muhammed Ali
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
From a private collector, also an artist, who worked with Yousuf Karsh in the 1970's through inheritance to Weston Gallery. Muhammad Ali 1970 “I photographed (Ali) in 1970, as par...
Silver Gelatin
Pablo Casals
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Yousuf Karsh was a Canadian photographe...
Silver Gelatin
Black and White Silver Gelatin Photograph of Igor Stravinsky
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Houston, TX
Black and white silver gelatin portrait photograph of Igor Stravinsky by well-renowned 20th Century photographer Yousuf Karsh. Matted and framed in sil...
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
Marx Brothers
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
Price Upon Request
Winston Churchill, 1941
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
11 x 14 inches (paper size) 16 x 20 inches (paper size) Signed on mount Silver gelatin print, mounted on card, printed by the artist or under his direct supervision circa 1980s Prove...
Silver Gelatin
Pablo Picasso, 1954 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography)
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
Pablo Picasso, 1954 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography) Signed on mount Silver gelatin print, mounted on card, printed by the artist or under his direct supervision 38 3/4 x 29 1/2 inches Provenance: Estate of Yousuf Karsh, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) was one of the most significant portrait photographers of the twentieth century. His portraits are easily recognisable for their bold use of studio lighting and closely cropped composition. Karsh’s photographs...
Silver Gelatin
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1956 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography)
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1956 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography) Signed on mount Silver gelatin print 20 x 16 inches Provenance: Estate of Yousuf Karsh, ...
Photographic Paper
Martin Luther King, 1960 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography)
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
Martin Luther King, 1960 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography) Signed on mount Silver gelatin print mounted on card, printed by the artist of under his direct supervision 19 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches Provenance: Estate of Yousuf Karsh, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) was one of the most significant portrait photographers of the twentieth century. His portraits are easily recognisable for their bold use of studio lighting and closely cropped composition. Karsh’s photographs...
Silver Gelatin
Martha Graham, 1948 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography)
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
John F. Kennedy, 1960 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography) Signed on mount Silver gelatin print mounted on card, printed by the artist of under his direct supervision 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches Provenance: Estate of Yousuf Karsh, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) was one of the most significant portrait photographers of the twentieth century. His portraits are easily recognisable for their bold use of studio lighting and closely cropped composition. Karsh’s photographs...
Silver Gelatin
John F. Kennedy, 1960 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography)
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
John F. Kennedy, 1960 - Yousuf Karsh (Portrait Photography) Signed on mount Silver gelatin print mounted on card, printed by the artist of under his direct supervision 13 x 101/4 inches Provenance: Estate of Yousuf Karsh, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) was one of the most significant portrait photographers of the twentieth century. His portraits are easily recognisable for their bold use of studio lighting and closely cropped composition. Karsh’s photographs...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Ernest Hemingway
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in New York, NY
16 x 20
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Pablo Picasso
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in New York, NY
16 x 20
Price Upon Request
Albert Einstein
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer in ink on the mount
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Pablo Picasso 1954
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Yousuf Karsh was a Canadian photograph...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Elixir
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Includes overmat - 28 x 22 inches. Yous...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Andy Warhol, 1979
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Yousuf Karsh was a Canadian photographe...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Humphrey Bogart, 1946
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative. We have a few different sizes available, unsigned and authenticated by the estate so conta...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
George Bernard Shaw
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Yousuf Karsh was a Canadian photographe...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Georgia OKeeffe
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Yousuf Karsh was a Canadian photographer (1908 - 2002) and is considered one of the most renowned portrait photographer of our time. He has perceptively photographed the statesmen, artists, and literary and scientific figures that have shaped our lives in the 20th century. Known for his ability to transform “the human face into legend,” many of the portraits that he created have become virtually the image of the great man or woman they portray, whether Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Albert Einstein or Helen Keller...
Silver Gelatin
Surfer with White Board
By Patrick Cariou
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, verso 24 x 20 inches, sheet 22 x 17 inches, image This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
$3,700
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.01 in
Frida by the Window - Frida Kahlo, painter, portrait, plant, icon
By Lucienne Bloch
Located in Denton, TX
Frida by the Window by Lucienne Bloch depicts the iconic Mexican artist posing with her back towards the window, with only a sliver of light illuminating her. Image size: 10 x 7 in....
Silver Gelatin
Tel 1
By Michael Crouser
Located in New York, NY
Toned gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, recto 14 x 11 inches, sheet (Edition of 25) 20 x 16 inches, sheet (Edition of 25) 24 x 20 inches, sheet (Edition of...
Silver Gelatin
Jeff Stryker
By Greg Gorman
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Greg Gorman (b. 1949) is a renowned fashion photographer who established his reputation in the late 1980's. His bold images are most frequently created in black and white, which he c...
Silver Gelatin
Bert Hardy 'Mercedes Racer' Archival Photograph by Getty, 16x20
Located in San Rafael, CA
Argentinian race car driver Juan Fangio (1911 - 1995) in his Mercedes at Le Mans, June 1955. The race saw the death of Mercedes team mate Pierre Levegh and 80 spectators. Original Pu...
Photographic Paper
$275
H 12 in W 16 in
Michael Ochs 'Brigitte Bardot' Archival Photograph by Getty, 12 x 16
By Michael Ochs
Located in San Rafael, CA
Brigitte Bardot with cigarette in hand by photographer Michael Ochs, originally taken in 1962. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Photographic Paper
Dustin, Rowing Machine I
By Luke Smalley
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 15) Stamped and numbered, verso 14 x 11 inches, sheet 7 x 5 inches, image From the series, "Gymnasium" This photograph is offered by ClampArt, loca...
Silver Gelatin
Coney Island
By John Albok
Located in Denton, TX
Unique Vintage gelatin silver print 7 1/4 x 6 1/8 in. Titled, dated, and artist stamp. Born in Munkacs, Hungary, John Albok learned photography as a boy. He came to the U.S. in 1921...
Silver Gelatin
High School Wrestlers Against Tree
By Luke Smalley
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 10) Stamped and numbered, verso 14 x 11 inches, sheet 12 x 9 inches, image From the series, "Gymnasium" This photograph is offered by ClampArt, loc...
Silver Gelatin
Holding the Herd
By Adam Jahiel
Located in Sante Fe, NM
For years, Jahiel has been photographing the cowboys of the Great Basin–perhaps one of the most inhospitable regions of the already rugged West. These people represent one of the l...
Silver Gelatin
$350
H 16 in W 20 in
Michael Ochs 'Brigitte Bardot' Archival Photograph by Getty, 16 x 20
By Michael Ochs
Located in San Rafael, CA
Brigitte Bardot with cigarette in hand by photographer Michael Ochs, originally taken in 1962. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) As an authorized Getty Images Gallery...
Photographic Paper
High School Wrestlers
By Luke Smalley
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in pencil, verso 13.5 x 11 inches, sheet 7 x 5 inches, image (Edition of 15) 24 x 20 inches, sheet 20 x 16 inches, image (Edition of 10) From the series, "Gymnasium" This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Please note that prices increase as editions sell. Luke Smalley was an American artist known for his photographic work, which pairs a coolly minimalist aesthetic with a retro nostalgia. Images from his early in his career were inspired by fitness manuals and yearbooks c. 1910. This is not surprising since Smalley graduated with a degree in sports medicine from Pepperdine University and worked for a number of years as a model and personal trainer. Smalley shot the bulk of his photographs in his home state of Pennsylvania. He used real high school...
Silver Gelatin
Winston Churchill
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Written by Yousuf Karsh: 1941 “My portrait of Winston Churchill changed my life. I knew after I had taken it that it was an important picture, but I could hardly have dreamed that it...
Silver Gelatin
Albert Einstein Smiling
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel, CA
Signed in ink with early markings Ottawa. Vintage Photograph. An amazing example of one of the greatest portrait photographers of our generation. Great condition.
Silver Gelatin
Ernest Hemingway
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original Opal V gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career. It was made from the original negative and signed by the artist. In Karsh's words from the 1957 sitting: “I ex...
Silver Gelatin
Sold
H 9.25 in W 6.25 in D 0.03 in
Portrait of Nikita Khrushchev in Profile, Mid Century Black & White Photograph
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Soquel, CA
Exquisite black and white photograph of Nikita Khrushchev, a portrait in profile of the former Premier of the Soviet Union, by Yousuf Karsh from his ...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper
Ernest Hemingway, 1957
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career on one of his favorite papers, the Kodak Opal V which is warm in tone. It was made from the original negative and sign...
Silver Gelatin
Sold
H 11.97 in W 9.38 in
The beautiful Actress Dina Merrill captured by Karsh of Ottawa
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Cologne, DE
The beautiful Actress Dina Merrill captured by Karsh of Ottawa - Surrounded by a flurry of soft chiffon, looking serene and lovely. Dina Merrill, actual...
Silver Gelatin
Winston Churchill
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Denton, TX
Signed in black ink on mount margin. 30 x 25 x 1 3/3 in. black frame included.
Silver Gelatin
Winston Churchill, 1941
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in London, GB
Signed on mount Silver gelatin print, mounted on card, printed by the artist or under his direct supervision circa 1980s 39 1/4 x 29 1/2 inches Provenance: Estate of Yousuf Karsh, Mu...
Muhammad Ali
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) is one of the masters of 20th century photography. His body of work includes portraits of statesmen, artists, musicians, authors, scientists, and men and wo...
Silver Gelatin
Robert Frost
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Denton, TX
Signed and numbered. Paper size: 24 x 20 in. Image size: 23 1/2 x 19 3/4 in.
Silver Gelatin
Audrey Hepburn
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed on the front of the mount. Rare - no photographs left in the Yousuf Karsh Estate. Printed later and signed by the artist.
Silver Gelatin
John F. Kennedy
By Yousuf Karsh
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Original gelatin silver print made later in the artist's career from the original negative and signed by the artist on the front of the mount. Includes overmat - 28 x 22 inches. You...
Silver Gelatin