In Rome, Canadian and Italian officials celebrated the retrieval of a stolen portrait of Winston Churchill, nicknamed “The Roaring Lion,” which was taken in Canada and found in Italy after a two-year investigation by law enforcement. During a special event at the Canadian Embassy in Rome, the Italian carabinieri police formally returned the 1941 portrait to the Canadian ambassador to Italy, Elissa Goldberg, who commended the collaborative efforts between Italian and Canadian authorities that resulted in the successful recovery of the piece.
The portrait, captured by Ottawa photographer Yousuf Karsh, is now prepared for its final journey back to the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa, where it was originally pilfered but will soon be reinstated as a significant historical artwork. Canadian authorities disclosed that the portrait was stolen from the hotel between Christmas 2021 and January 6, 2022, and was cleverly swapped with a forgery. The substitution went undetected until August when a vigilant hotel staff member noticed irregularities with the frame.
Nicola Cassinelli, an attorney based in Genoa, Italy, unwittingly purchased the stolen portrait in May 2022 for 5,292 British pounds at an online Sotheby’s auction. Upon receiving a call from the auction house in October advising him not to transfer or sell the portrait due to its involvement in the Ottawa theft investigation, Cassinelli promptly agreed to return the Churchill photograph to its rightful place at the Chateau Laurier.
The renowned photograph was taken by Karsh during Churchill’s visit to the Canadian Parliament in December 1941 and played a pivotal role in launching Karsh’s career as a prominent photographer who captured portraits of various noteworthy figures such as Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, and Queen Elizabeth. Karsh and his wife presented an original signed print to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in 1998, a place where they had their home and studio for almost two decades.
Geneviève Dumas, the general manager of the Fairmont Château Laurier, expressed her immense gratitude, stating, “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everybody involved in solving this case, and ensuring the safe return of this priceless piece of history.” A 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ontario, was arrested in April in connection to the theft and subsequent trafficking of the portrait, facing multiple charges including forgery, theft exceeding $5,000, and trafficking in property obtained through criminal means surpassing $5,000.