Yousuf Karsh, master photographer of the 20th century
On this day, June 2, in 1953, Princess Elizabeth was formally crowned Queen Elizabeth II. This informal family portrait was made in 1951, and shows the then-Princess with her husband Prince Philip and their young children.
This LIFE magazine cover from August, 1961, featured a Karsh portrait of the 35th President of the United States. Karsh made this photograph of John F. Kennedy in 1960, when Kennedy was still a senator.
John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917. The 35th President of the United States, 1961-1963, was the youngest man elected to the office. The JFK Library is commemorating his centennial during the month of May.
Our friends at the Canadian War Museum have this lovely photograph of Wing Officer Willa Walker in their collection, and it is currently on display as part of the traveling exhibition “World War Women /Grandes Guerres. Grandes Femmes.”
“In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Ottawa Citizen is rolling out one fact each day for 150 days until July 1, highlighting the odd, the fascinating and the important bits of Ottawa history you might not know about.”
The Estate is pleased to partner with the Eisenhower Memorial Commission in their ongoing work to memorialize the 34th US President on the National Mall.
“Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern” takes a new look at how the renowned modernist artist proclaimed her progressive, independent lifestyle through a self-crafted public persona.
Herman Leonard began his career as an apprentice to famed portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh. “In the Groove: Jazz Portraits by Herman Leonard” features Leonard’s iconic images of jazz legends.
“Camera Press at 70: A Lifetime in Pictures” features seven decades of iconic images from the archives of the UK’s leading independent photographic agency.
The Washington Post Style section ran a cover story about Dr. Andrew Farah’s book, Hemingway’s Brain, which suggests Hemingway suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
“They Desire a Better Country: The Order of Canada in 50 Stories” includes portraits by Karsh, and, since he himself was a recipient of both the Companion of the Order of Canada and Officer of the Order of Canada, Karsh has his own section in the book.
“It’s been 15 years since Yousuf Karsh died. At the time, digital was just starting to overtake film as the most popular photographic medium.”
Architect I. M. Pei had his 100th birthday on April 26, 2017.
From the archives at LIFE Magazine, the memorial edition for John F. Kennedy after his death in 1963 featuring a portrait by Karsh from 1960.
TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Images of All Time” naturally includes Karsh’s “Roaring Lion” portrait of Winston Churchill.
The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled the first statue in Stadium history.
“Celebrating the Negative” is a study of the original film on which famous images have been captured by some of the most important photographers from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Joan Baez was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017’s award ceremony.
Over in Postal History Corner, a blog from the Canadian Postal and Philatelist Society, you can read all about the process of producing a stamp in 1952.
From the archives at LIFE Magazine. This cover from 1961 features a less well-known color portrait of Ernest Hemingway.
In the April 3rd, 2017, issue of Macleans, Christine Sismondo wrote an article titled: “The history and lessons of those ‘lock her up’ chants. What history – including the career of Agnes Macphail – can tell us about this fraught moment for women in politics.”
David Rockefeller, the banker and philanthropist, has died aged 101.
Extracts from letters between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears have gone on display at the Red House.
Editorials that featured Fidel Castro by Yousuf Karsh in the week after Castro died.
Estrellita Karsh was recognized as a Service Hero for the 2017 Class at Project 351’s Annual Launch and Service Day.
In a letter to the Ottawa Citizen, Lilly Koltun, PhD, Director General (ret’d), Portrait Gallery of Canada, writes: “Exhibit citizen Karsh’s collection”
The Bank of England chose Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh to appear on the front of its all-new polymer banknote, now in circulation across the UK.
Very special permission was given for British author and politician Boris Johnson to use a colorized version of the portrait of Winston Churchill for the cover of his book.
Author, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and Auschwitz survivor, Elie Wiesel, died in June, 2016.
After The Bank of England revealed a new plastic five pound note featuring Winston Churchill, ‘No Such Thing as The News’ discuss why the former prime minister looks so displeased in the photo.
In April, 2016, Britain’s Telegraph Magazine celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday with this cover featuring a Karsh portrait of Her Majesty.
No collection of Canadian photographs would be complete without the work of Yousuf Karsh.
On loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, “Yousuf Karsh: Icons of the Twentieth Century” provides an intimate view into the faces of leading figures in the arts, politics and the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Dancer and actress Betty Low, seen here in 1936, has died aged 100.
The developers were to Karsh’s own formulae because that is what he learned from his early years with George Nakash and John Garo – no Kodak packages.
Karsh’s camera of choice was large format: 8 by 10 with an interchangeable 4 by 5 back. He preferred tungsten lights because he could see the results playing across the faces of his subjects, and they were less disruptive than the flash of strobes.
Julie Grahame presents several of Karsh’s most well-known works and tells the stories behind the images.
The Bank of Canada honored the historic reign of Queen Elizabeth on September 9th, 2015, with the launch of a commemorative bank note.
These are the 2015 Winners of the Hemingway Look-Alike competition…
Royal Canadian Mint engravers have expertly reproduced the original portrait taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1948.