Karsh Signature

Yousuf Karsh, master photographer of the 20th century

Search Results for: for life

Sittings

sitting #
date
Name
Role, Location, Notes
8457
Nov 11 1942

Mr. H. W. Manning

Vice President & Managing Director, The Great-West Life Assurance Co.
8982
Sep 12 1943

M. Jan Masaryk

Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia
For LIFE Magazine
9137
Mar 17 1944

Claud Wickard

Secretary of Agriculture
For LIFE Magazine
9150
Mar 29 1944

Mr. Paul V. McNutt

Administrator, Federal Security Agency; Chairman, War Manpower Commission
For LIFE Magazine
9154
Mar 31 1944

Mr. Elmer Davis

Director, Office of War Information, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9158
Apr 3 1944

Mr. J. Edgar Hoover

Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9159
Apr 3 1944

Mr. Byron Price

Director of Censorship, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9160
Apr 3 1944

Harold D. Smith

Director, Bureau of the Budget, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9161
Apr 4 1944

Mr. James F. Byrnes

Director of War Mobilization, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9162
Apr 4 1944

Fred M. Vinson

Director, Economic Stabilization Board
For LIFE Magazine
9163
Apr 6 1944

Mr. Leo T. Crowley

Alien Property Custodian, also Administrator Foreign Economic Administrations, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9164
Apr 7 1944

Charles E. Wilson

Chairman, Joint War Production, USA & Canada
For LIFE Magazine
9166
Apr 8 1944

Chester Bowles

Administrator, Office of Price Administration, Washington D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9180
Apr 15 1944

Mr. Robert A. Lovett

Assistant Secretary of War for Air, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9187
Apr 19 1944

Mr. William Green

Head of American Federation of Labor, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE
9191
Apr 22 1944

Admiral Ernest J. King

Commander in Chief US Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations
For LIFE Magazine
9203
May 4 1944

Mr. John J. McCloy

Assistant Secretary of War, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9210
May 11 1944

Mr. Bernard M. Baruch

Special Advisor to Director, Office of War Mobilization
For LIFE Magazine
9179
May 15 1944

General H. H. Arnold

Commanding General Army Air Forces, War Dept., Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9237
Jun 19 1944

Mr. E. G. Baker

Canada Life Assurance Co., Director of Bank of Canada
9656
Jan 1 1945

Mr. Paul Gray Hoffman

President, Studebaker Corporation
For LIFE Magazine Captains of Industry
9500
Apr 1 1945

Mr. Isador Lubin

Commissioner of Labor Statistics
For LIFE Magazine
9501
Apr 1 1945

Mr. Robert E. Hannegan

Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9503
Apr 1 1945

David K. Niles

Administrative Assistant to the President
For LIFE Magazine
9506
Apr 1 1945

Mr. Oscar Cox

Deputy Administrator, Foreign Economic Administration
For LIFE Magazine
9509
Apr 1 1945

Mr. Edward F. Prichard

General Counsel, Office of War, Mobilization and Reconversion, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9510
Apr 1 1945

Mr. J. A. Krug

Chairman, War Production Board
For LIFE Magazine
9511
Apr 1 1945

Mr. Hugh Fulton

Chief Counsel, The Truman Committee, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine
9519
Apr 28 1945

Commander Harold E. Stassen

USNR. Delegate to United Nations Conference at San Francisco, California. Formerly Flag Officer to Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Admiral of 3rd Fleet in Pacific
For LIFE Magazine
9521
May 1 1945

Dr. T. V. Soong

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs
For LIFE Magazine
9532
May 6 1945

Mr. George Mardikian

Owner, Omar Khayyam Restaurant, San Francisco, California
For LIFE Magazine
9530
May 7 1945

Mr. V. M. Molotov

USSR People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs
For LIFE Magazine
9645
Nov 15 1945

Mr. Walter Gifford

President, American Telephone & Telegraph, AT&T
For LIFE Magazine Captains of Industry
9649
Nov 20 1945

Mr. Eugene Grace

President, Bethlehem Steel
For LIFE Magazine Captains of Industry
9655
Nov 29 1945

Mr. Eugene Holman

President, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey
For LIFE Magazine
9692
Jan 11 1946

Mr. Martin W. Clement

President of the Pennsylvania Railroad
For LIFE Magazine Captains of Industry
9699
Jan 29 1946

Mr. Donald W. Douglas

President, Douglas Aircraft Co. Inc.
For LIFE Magazine Captains of Industry
9718
Feb 18 1946

Mr. Henry Ford II

Ford Motor Company
For LIFE Magazine Captains of Industry
9878
Jan 27 1947

Mr. G. T. Harris

Manager, Edmonton Branch, Mutual Life Assurance Co. of Canada
10304
Apr 12 1949

Edmund Fitzgerald Esq.

President, Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co.
For J. Walter Thompson Chicago
10385
Oct 27 1949

H. W. Manning Esq.

Vice President & Managing Director, The Great-West Life Assurance Co.
10940
Oct 22 1953

Glen J. Spahn

Vice President in charge of Canada, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
11216
Sep 29 1955

Mr. George Humphrey

United States Secretary of the Treasury for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
For LIFE Magazine, through PIX Publishing
11217
Sep 29 1955

General Wilton B. Persons

Liaison Officer. Deputy Assistant to the President
For LIFE Magazine, through PIX Publishing
12047
Nov 10 1961

A. D. Martin Sr. & Jr.

Fort Worth Transit Company, Dallas, Texas
Through Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
12048
Nov 10 1961

A. D. Martin Sr.

Fort Worth Transit Company, Dallas, Texas
Through Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
12049
Nov 10 1961

A. D. Martin Jr.

Fort Worth Transit Company, Dallas, Texas
Through Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
12050
Nov 10 1961

Mr. Ralph L. Polk

R. L. Polk Company
Through Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
12051
Nov 14 1961

Mr. Thomas A. Wilson

President, National Carbide Dye Co.
Through Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
12572
Aug 25 1966

Mr. Charles E. Spahr

President, Standard Oil Company
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
12819
Dec 15 1967

Mr. Olcott Smith

Chairman, Aetna Life & Casualty
For Finance Magazine
12912
Aug 9 1968

Mr. Ferguson

President, Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co.
13409
Oct 14 1972

Simon Ward

(As Winston Churchill)
For LIFE Magazine
13556
Dec 12 1973

Mr. Benjamin D. Holloway

Senior Vice President, City Mortgage Department, The Equitable Life Mortgage and Realty Investors
13557
Dec 12 1973

Mr. Robert W. Hendrickson

Senior Vice President, Investments, The Equitable Life Mortgage and Realty Investors
13558
Dec 13 1973

Mr. Thomas F. Murray

Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, The Equitable Life Mortgage and Realty Investors
13559
Dec 13 1973

Mr. Donald R. Waugh Jr.

Vice President, City Mortgage Department, Equitable Life Mortgage and Realty Investors
14077
Nov 20 1978

Mr. Paul S. Mills

Executive Vice President, American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters
14245
Jul 29 1980

Mr. Fred Kasravi

Senior Representative, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada
14379
Mar 12 1982

Robert A. Bandeen

Chairman & President, Crown Life Insurance Co.
For Concordia University, for Montreal Business Report magazine
14380
Mar 30 1982

James Earl Jones

Dual sitting with Christopher Plummer. In costumes for Othello and Iago parts
For LIFE Magazine
14380
Mar 30 1982

Christopher Plummer

Dual sitting with James Earl Jones. In costumes for Othello and Iago parts
For LIFE Magazine
14386
Jun 10 1982

Medea

Actresses from the play. Judith Anderson and Zoe Caldwell in costume for parts in Medea. photographed together and individually
For LIFE Magazine
14386
Jun 10 1982

Zoe Caldwell

Individually and together with Judith Anderson, in the play “Medea”
For LIFE Magazine
14386
Jun 10 1982

Judith Anderson

Individually and together with Zoe Caldwell, in the play “Medea”
For LIFE Magazine
15063
Feb 17 1989

Alfred Eisenstaedt

Photographer
Photographed at LIFE Magazine offices for East-West Network
9152
Mar 30 1944

Mr. Ralph A. Bard

Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C.
For LIFE Magazine

Photographs

  • Carl Sandburg

  • Ernest Hemingway

  • Henry Luce

  • John F. Kennedy

  • Norman Rockwell

  • Sir Edmund Hillary

  • Winston Churchill

  • Calgary Stampede

  • Horses and Farmer

  • Vancouver at Night

  • Charles Laughton

  • John Garo

  • Nelson Rockefeller

  • Gina Lollobrigida

  • Pierre Elliot Trudeau

  • Final Portrait

    Alberto Giacometti

  • Audrey Hepburn

  • Frank Lloyd Wright

  • Archibald Belaney (Grey Owl)

  • Helen Keller and Polly Thomson

  • Jacqueline Kennedy

  • Princess Grace

  • Stephen Leacock

  • William Lyon Mackenzie King

  • Antique Shop

  • Great Lakes Paper Company

  • Stanley Park

  • Porter at Union Station

Video and Audio

Legacy

“LIFE”

Henry Luce, 1944 This month marks the anniversary of the first issue of LIFE magazine published by its new owner Henry Luce. From 1883, LIFE had been a humor and… […]

Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography

Berenice Abbott, 1989 Our friend and colleague Julia Van Haaften, founding curator of the New York Public Library’s photography collection, has released her in-depth biography Berenice Abbott: A Life in… […]

J. Edgar Hoover

…others, even sitting presidents of the United States. Read more (Wikipedia) Karsh photographed Hoover in 1944 on assignment for LIFE magazine. See other people who sat for Karsh and LIFE…. […]

The John Buchan Story Museum

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, 1936 The John Buchan Story is a museum dedicated to the life, work and legacy of the novelist, historian, and politician John Buchan, also known… […]

Heroes of World War II

Winston Churchill, 1941 Heroes of World War II: Men and Women Who Put Their Lives on the Line is a new publication from LIFE Books that features important figures from… […]

Emil Schram and Sons

…three sons. They had seen the photograph in an article titled “Why I told my boys to invest first in life insurance!” published in the Montreal Gazette. The Library and… […]

“We Met in Paris”

…Her Life with Marguerite Yourcenar. Grace Frick introduced English-language readers all over the world to the distinguished French author Marguerite Yourcenar with her award-winning translation of Yourcenar’s novel Memoirs of… […]

Jerome Robbins

…titled “Voice of My City” which traces Robbins’ life and dances alongside the history of New York. In its review, New York’s local news WNYC says: “The exhibit is organized… […]

Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, 1951 Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan by Buchan’s granddaughter, Ursula Buchan, is out now from Bloomsbury UK. This extensive biography tells how… […]

The Charter of the United Nations

…and came into force on 24 October 1945. Yousuf Karsh was sent there by LIFE to photograph the delegates, including Anthony Eden, British Foreign Secretary at the time; His Royal… […]

Berenice Abbott

…1989. He spoke at her funeral in 1991, and you can listen to a recording here. Abbott’s fascinating life is explored in Julia Van Haaften’s biography Berenice Abbott: A Life […]

Clare Boothe Luce

…a leading conservative in later life and was well known for her anti-communism. In her youth, she briefly aligned herself with the liberalism of President Franklin Roosevelt as a protégé… […]

Judy Garland

LIFE. Other Hollywood actors who were photographed for the magazine that same year include Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotton, Boris Karloff, and Gregory Peck. See a complete list of LIFE sittings…. […]

Elie Wiesel

…book-lined study, I found an erudite storyteller, a Holocaust survivor who has retained a bittersweet sense of life and placed it in the service of worldwide peace and human rights.”… […]

“Countless Journeys”

…the performing and visual arts. They begin with “a celebration of the life and work of legendary photographer Yousuf Karsh.” “Karsh’s life story, from refugee to world-class photographer, unfolds, along… […]

Bernard Baruch

…Baruch, May 11, 1944. Special Advisor to Director, Office of War Mobilization. For LIFE Magazine.” Baruch died on this day, June 20, in 1965. Read more about his life (Wikipedia)…. […]

“Ottawa Art & Artists”

…I welcomed an invitation to join the Ottawa Little Theatre, an enthusiastic group of amateur players. The casual invitation was to have lasting effects on my life and career. The… […]

Elie Wiesel

…book-lined study, I found an erudite storyteller, a Holocaust survivor who has retained a bittersweet sense of life and placed it in the service of worldwide peace and human rights.”… […]

Bernard Baruch

…European allies. Read more (Wikipedia) Bernard M. Baruch was photographed by Karsh in 1944 as “Special Advisor to Director, Office of War Mobilization” for LIFE Magazine. See more Bernard Baruch…. […]

Harry S. Truman

…served four months as Vice President before Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office. Karsh photographed him as Senator Harry S. Truman, Missouri, for LIFE Magazine in 1944, and again in… […]

Anthony Eden

…Right Honorable Anthony Eden as British Foreign Secretary in 1943 with Canada’s Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King. Eden sat again for LIFE magazine in 1945, and once more in… […]

Josip Broz Tito

…Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, serving as both prime minister (1944–1963), president (later President for life) (1953–1980), and marshal of Yugoslavia, the highest rank of the Yugoslav People’s Army.  … […]

Clement Attlee

…cards reading: 1941: “Right Honorable Clement Attlee MP”; 1943: “The Right Honorable Clement Attlee MP, Deputy Prime Minister”; 1945: “The Right Honorable Clement Attlee MP, For LIFE Magazine”; and 1949:… […]

Clement Attlee

…Sitter cards reading: 1941: “Right Honorable Clement Attlee MP”; 1943: “The Right Honorable Clement Attlee MP, Deputy Prime Minister”; 1945: “The Right Honorable Clement Attlee MP, For LIFE Magazine”; and… […]

Dr. Helen Taussig

Dr. Helen Taussig, 1975 Helen Brooke Taussig (1898 – 1986) was an American cardiologist who founded the field of pediatric cardiology and is credited with a life-extending procedure for children… […]

Romeo and Juliet

…invitation to join the Ottawa Little Theatre, an enthusiastic group of amateur players. The casual invitation was to have lasting effects on my life and career. The experience of photographing… […]

John F. Kennedy

…Senator Edward Kennedy, in 1968, and Robert Kennedy, US Attorney General at the time, in 1962. See John F. Kennedy on the cover of LIFE Magazine in 1961 and 1963…. […]

Ford Motor Company

…See Karsh “On Assignment“. He photographed Ford’s grandson, Henry Ford II, for LIFE Magazine in 1946, and again in 1968. Ford II was president of the Ford Motor Company from… […]

Peggy Cummins, 1925–2017

…up remained a mystery for many years before we learned it was Peggy Cummins, who was photographed in 1946 for LIFE Magazine. Read her obituary in the New York Times…. […]

John Buchan and Yousuf Karsh

…to a sudden end five years later when he lost his life after a tragic fall. For Karsh, this association honed his interpersonal and professional skills and expanded his clientele… […]

The Crown

…episodes over six seasons, with 10 one-hour episodes per season, covering Elizabeth’s life from her younger years to her reign, and with new actors being cast every two seasons. Naturally,… […]

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier

…her new life far from the Hollywood sound stages. A few moments later, after running a comb through her hair and quickly changing her clothes, the beautiful woman, and future… […]

Better Photography: Great Masters

…go about encapsulating his larger-than-life subjects in a photograph? What did he look for? And in the case of some of them, how did he maneuver around their daunting personalities?… […]

Dr. Victor McKusick

…MSSF to present their projects in life sciences, engineering, computer sciences, environmental sciences, and other STEM fields. The MSSF awards over $1 million in college tuition scholarships and provides a… […]

Fidel Castro

…impressed that Castro – a revolutionary – should have made room in his life for these creative luminaries. See some magazine covers that featured Karsh in their obituaries of Castro…. […]

Estrellita Karsh Interview for WYSO

…Nakash, who inspired him to take photos. On December 30, 1941, age 32, his life was forever changed when Winston Churchill visited Ottawa. Listen to the interview. Winston Churchill, 1941… […]

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer

…Images were generous to share their digital copy, which will be added to the Life in Images gallery on this website. Click here to see Karsh’s choice from the sitting…. […]

Charles Aznavour, 1924-2018

…died this week, leaving behind more than 1,200 songs, and sales of 180 million records. Yousuf Karsh photographed Aznavour in Ottawa in 1987. Read more about his extraordinary life (Wikipedia)…. […]

Viscountess Astor

…Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. Viscountess Astor was photographed by Yousuf Karsh in 1946, one year after she was “persuaded to retire.” Read about her fascinating life…. […]

Pearl Buck

…the Nobel Prize for Literature “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces.” NobelPrize.org. Of course, Mr. Karsh photographed many Nobel… […]

Eleanor Roosevelt

…to seek fulfillment in leading a public life of her own. She persuaded Franklin to stay in politics after he was stricken with a paralytic illness in 1921, which cost… […]

Jacques Cousteau

…studied the sea and all forms of life in water. Karsh photographed Cousteau and his two sons, Jean-Michel and Philippe, in January, 1972. Jacques Cousteau died aged 87, and his… […]

Fulton J. Sheen

…decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of “heroic virtues” – a major step towards beatification – and he is now referred… […]

Eleanor Roosevelt

…remaining 17 years of her life. She pressed the United States to join and support the United Nations and became its first delegate. She served as the first chair of… […]

Ruth Draper

…presented them successfully on stages in Europe and America from the 1910s on… She resisted recording offers until late in her life, when she recorded a series of her monologues… […]

Winston Churchill

…would make his outstanding portrait of the great British Prime Minister. My portrait of Winston Churchill changed my life. I knew after I had taken it that it was an… […]

Russ Bannock, 1919-2020

…20 minutes. After three hours he walked out. Karsh interviewed him, wanted to know his life history to that point, set different lighting and finally took the photo as attached…. […]

Estrellita Karsh

life, she has not ceased working to maintain his legacy since his passing in 2002. You can read about Estrellita’s activities here – scroll down for information about the Karsh… […]

Charles Schulz

…break in late 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday; reruns of the strip ran during his vacation, the only time that occurred during Schulz’s life. Read more (Wikipedia) In Karsh’s… […]

Justice Felix Frankfurter

…noted advocate of judicial restraint in the judgments of the Court. Karsh photographed Frankfurter on assignment for LIFE – see a list of others who Karsh photographed for the magazine…. […]

Sir Thomas Beecham

…London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to the BBC, was Britain’s first international conductor. Read more… […]

Lammot du Pont II

…founded in 1802 as a gunpowder mill. Du Pont sat for Karsh as part of a series for LIFE called “Captains of Industry” – See the others who were photographed…. […]

John F. Kennedy

…his run for the Presidency. LIFE magazine’s memorial edition for John F. Kennedy after his death in 1963 would feature a color portrait from the 1960 sitting. See more Kennedys…. […]

Helen Keller

…her sight and hearing. At the age of seven she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including reading and writing; and on this… […]

Frank Lloyd Wright

…collection of Japanese prints than the survival of his Imperial Hotel in Tokyo during an earthquake. At one point this avowed iconoclast surprised me: ‘Most men scramble through life, ready… […]

Thomas Mann’s Hands

…California, for LIFE magazine. “There was one picture in particular that won the attention of the photographer and of his sitter: a close-up of Thomas Mann’s hands.” Mann was a… […]

Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi

…Buthelezi also acted in the film, playing the role of his real-life great-grandfather, King Cetshwayo kaMpande, and recently defended the film against claims of racism. Read his statement. Karsh photographed… […]

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck, 1954 A new biography of John Steinbeck by William Souder is out now. Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck (WW Norton), features this portrait as… […]

Paul Robeson

…One Can Silence Me: Young Adult Edition. The Life of Legendary Artist and Activist Paul Robeson. “Paul Robeson was destined for greatness. The son of an ex-slave who upon his… […]

Her Majesty

…story of her public and private life. Brimming with tradition, history, glamour, and culture, this book features international tours, state functions, royal weddings, and jubilees, and showcases the glorious royal… […]

Max Stern

Max Stern, 1973 A nice new addition to the digital archives is this 1973 portrait of German-born businessman and philanthropist Max Stern. Stern rebuilt his life in Canada after anti-Semitic… […]

Yousuf Karsh, 1908-2002

…and the records have been transcribed and are searchable here on this website. Get a glimpse behind the scenes of his six prolific decades in our Life in Images gallery…. […]

Joan Baez

…new life into the genre and powered rock music’s turn toward social and political consciousness.” Baez is one of a handful who were photographed for Look magazine for an article… […]

Jascha Heifetz

…take our fiddles and break them across our knees.” Late in life, Heifetz became a dedicated teacher and a champion of socio-political causes. He publicly advocated to establish 911 as… […]

John Buchan

…close: read more about their relationship. Read more about this portrait, and about the 2019 biography Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan by Buchan’s granddaughter, Ursula Buchan…. […]

Kim Novak

…based on W. Somerset Maugham‘s 1915 novel of the same title. Novak has spent the latter part of her life as an artist and activist and will be releasing a… […]

Vyacheslav Molotov

…Francisco Conference”; the conference resulted in the creation of the United Nations Charter. It was during this visit to the USA that he was photographed by Karsh, for LIFE Magazine…. […]

“Hemingway”

We are very pleased to announce our partnership with the creators of the new three-part, six-hour series “Hemingway” in which Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explore the life and work… […]

Gregory Peck

…Loren. Yousuf Karsh photographed several other big Hollywood names in 1946, including Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Boris Karloff, and Sidney Greenstreet. Several were photographed for LIFE. See more…. […]

Frank Lloyd Wright

…through life, ready to snatch and run, thus cutting themselves off from divinity within. If I don’t believe in the now, I can’t believe in the hereafter.’” See another portrait… […]

James McIntosh

James McIntosh, 1945 When Yousuf Karsh was assigned to photograph General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, for LIFE magazine, Marshall said to the photographer, “You… […]

Judy Garland

Judy Garland, 1946 The American actress, singer and dancer Judy Garland was born on this day, June 10, in 1992 (d. 1969). Karsh photographed her for LIFE magazine in 1946…. […]

Stephen Leacock

…domestic life. Wit, a quality quite different from humour, constantly bubbled in his casual talk. One evening, for instance, he decided to take me fishing. Two craft were moored at… […]

William Lyon Mackenzie King

…I should have suspected the vast gulf between Mackenzie King’s public image and his private life. Through the Prime Minister’s patronage, I obtained some of my most important photographs, including… […]

“Becoming Cousteau”

Jacques Cousteau, 1972 The new documentary Becoming Cousteau from National Geographic “takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made… […]

Grace Kelly

…curlers! Newly engaged to Rainier, the Prince of Monaco, she was in the throes of preparing for her departure for her new life far from the Hollywood sound stages. A… […]

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time 

Kurt Vonnegut, 1990 In 1982, a young filmmaker wrote a letter to his literary idol, proposing a documentary on the author’s life and work. Kurt Vonnegut soon met with Robert… […]

Gordon Parks

…is best remembered for his iconic photos of poor Americans during the 1940s (taken for a federal government project), for his photographic essays for LIFE magazine, and as the director… […]

Yousuf Karsh’s Birthday

…and the records have been transcribed and are searchable here on this website. Get a glimpse behind the scenes of his six prolific decades in our Life in Images gallery…. […]

Bob Cousy

…bathroom and had to use the shabby “for colored” facility – as one of the most shameful experiences of his life. This portrait from 1990 has been freshly scanned and… […]

Kim Novak

…which is based on W. Somerset Maugham‘s 1915 novel of the same title. Novak has spent the latter part of her life as an artist and activist. Kim Novak is… […]

James V. Forrestal

…of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. He was born on February 15, 1892, (d. 1949) and was photographed by Karsh in 1944 for LIFE Magazine…. […]

Carl Jung

…end of his life, including Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies in 1959, the year after he was photographed by Karsh. The book analyzed the… […]

Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Rockefeller, 1944 Nelson Rockefeller was born on this day, July 8, in 1908 (d. 1979). He was born into great wealth but forged a life of his own in… […]

Nelson Mandela

…the Chateau Laurier for his portrait. Read what happened. When Mandela died in 2013, Apple used this Karsh portrait on their home page to commemorate the great man’s life.  … […]

Ernest Hemingway

…man I ever photographed – a man cruelly battered by life, but seemingly invincible. He was still suffering from the effects of a plane accident that occurred during his fourth… […]

Sports Illustrated

Henry Luce, 1944 August 16, 1954, saw the launch of Sports Illustrated magazine. It was founded by Henry Luce (1898-1967), an American magazine magnate who also founded Time, LIFE, and… […]

Charles Schulz Centenary

…Schulz’s life. Read more (Wikipedia) In Karsh’s book American Legends (Bullfinch Press, 1992) Karsh wrote of the artist “He presented me with America’s favorite beagle, a tiny velvet “Snoopy,” as… […]

John F. Kennedy

…Kennedy in 1957 and 1960, when JFK was the senator for Massachusetts. Jacqueline Kennedy was also photographed in ’57. LIFE Magazine’s memorial edition for John F. Kennedy after his death… […]

Jascha Heifetz

…take our fiddles and break them across our knees.” Late in life, Heifetz became a dedicated teacher and a champion of socio-political causes. He publicly advocated to establish 911 as… […]

Kim Novak

…on W. Somerset Maugham‘s 1915 novel of the same title. Novak has spent the latter part of her life as an artist and activist. See a second portrait of Kim… […]

Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez, 1991 Fabulous to see Karsh’s color portrait of Chavez used to illustrate an article in National Geographic online, “The civil rights leader spent his life advocating for farm… […]

Thomas Mann

…6, in 1875 (d. 1955). Mann was photographed by Karsh for LIFE magazine in 1946, one of more than 50 people Karsh photographed for that publication between 1943 (M. Jan… […]

Frank Lloyd Wright

life, ready to snatch and run, thus cutting themselves off from divinity within. If I don’t believe in the now, I can’t believe in the hereafter.’” See another portrait of… […]

Jean Cocteau

…and he, of course, was busy with a thousand things… this master-of-all-arts and insatiable experimenter with life. We arranged, therefore, to take the pictures in a friend’s apartment, directly about… […]

Stephen Leacock

…domestic life. “Wit, a quality quite different from humour, constantly bubbled in his casual talk. One evening, for instance, he decided to take me fishing. Two craft were moored at… […]

Ralph Nader

…he believes performed extraordinarily well as business leaders and civic reformers, some well-known, some not, who should be celebrated as exceptions whose life and career should be a course of… […]

John F. Kennedy

…Kennedy in 1957 and 1960, when JFK was the senator for Massachusetts. Jacqueline Kennedy was also photographed in ’57. LIFE Magazine’s memorial edition for John F. Kennedy after his death… […]

Jean Sibelius

…power of selection, and although the signs of age and the ebbing of life were there, it could still capture, in a fleeting second, the noble soul and the immortal… […]

William O. Douglas

…He was photographed in 1944 for LIFE magazine and again 1963. We have recently added this later portrait to the website thanks to an inquiry from someone fortunate enough to… […]

Charles Schulz

…only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday; reruns of the strip ran during his vacation, the only time that occurred during Schulz’s life…. […]

Peggy Cummins

…actors. Read more (Wikipedia). Karsh photographed Cummins on this day, February 21, in 1946, for LIFE magazine. We do not have a digitized copy of her portrait but we do… […]

Awards

Achievement of Life Award

Encyclopedia Britannica, 1980

Bibliography

  • Yousuf Karsh & John Garo: The Search for a Master’s Legacy

Exhibitions

General

A Brief Biography

…it was the original Garden of Eden, should have been the scene of the Turkish atrocities against the Armenians in 1915. Cruelty and torture were everywhere; nevertheless, life had to…

His Life in Pictures

Yousuf Karsh with his mentor, John Garo, 1930 Self-Portrait, 1933 Karsh’s late wife Solange, 1935 Self-Portrait, 1930s Solange with John Garo, 1939 With his brother Malak Karsh, Ottawa, 1940s With…

Legacy

…He would return to the museum throughout his life. Yousuf and Estrellita Karsh have endowed the museum through the work of the Karsh Center, and it holds the archive of…

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