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
$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
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
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
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
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
Gravestone Detail
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print is initialed "AA" in felt-tip ink either by the artist or an unknown hand on the front of the mount. This print comes from the collection of the artist's da...
Silver Gelatin
Bob Marley 1972 portrait by Alec Byrne
By Alec Byrne
Located in Austin, TX
Signed limited edition, silver print of Bob Marley, taken in the recording studio during the "I Can See Clearly Now" sessions with Johnny Nash, 1972 Alec Byrne signed limited editio...
Archival Pigment, Silver Gelatin
The Italian Singer Luciano Ligabue - B/w Photo - 1980s
Located in Roma, IT
This Vintage Photo shows the Italian Singer Luciano Ligabue.
Photographic Paper
Andy Warhol and a Male Model
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken under the direction of Andy Warhol. Image dimensions: 8 x 10 in. Framed dimensions: 16 x 18 in. Work comes with an authentication letter from the Andy Warhol Authentication Board, Inc. Stamped on verso by the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. Provenance: Estate of the Artist to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to Hedges Projects...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of a Male Model at The Factory
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol of a male model at The Factory at 860 Broadway circa the late 1970s or early 1980s. Image dimensions: 10 x 8 in. Framed dimen...
Silver Gelatin
$94
H 7.09 in W 9.45 in D 0.04 in
The Italian Actress Eleonora Giorgi and Ivo Garrani - Vintage b/w Photo - 1980s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo. The Italian Actress Eleonora Giorgi and Ivo Garrani in "La Traversata". Lightly damaged.
Photographic Paper
Photograph of James Curley and Ian Falconer
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Authenticated by The Andy Warhol Authentication Board, Inc. Comes with an Authentication Letter. Stamped on the reverse by ...
Silver Gelatin
Diana Vreeland and Tinkerbelle
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work of Diana Vreeland and Tinkerbelle photographed by Andy Warhol at a party with Diana Vreeland, Earl McGrath, Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher in 1980. ...
Silver Gelatin
Phyllis Diller
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol of the comedic actress Phyllis Diller, known throughout the 1960s and 70s for her offbeat stage ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,059
H 16.93 in W 13.39 in D 0.12 in
Portrait of Czar Nicholas II of Russia, his Wife and Imperial Ulhans Regiment
By Karl Bulla
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Czar Nicholas II of Russia, his Wife and the Imperial Ulhans Regiment in Saint Petersburg in 1908/09 realized by the famous poland/russian...
Photographic Paper
Photograph of Robin Williams at a Thrift Store in the Village
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work of Robin Williams thrift-store shopping in the Village, April 17, 1979, photographed by Andy Warhol. Illustrated in The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol. Edited by Pat Hackett, Warner Books, 1991. Beginning his career in stand-up, Robin Williams made it big in the late 1970s co-starring in the comedy series Mork & Mindy. He went on to have a successful career starring in films like Popye, Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting...
Silver Gelatin
$20,000
H 8 in W 10 in
Andy Warhol, Photograph of John Stockwell and Bianca Jagger circa 1980
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Like her former husband Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Bianca Jagger enjoyed the nightlife New York City had to offer. K...
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