Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh, 1908-2002

“The never ending fascination for the people I photograph rests in what I call their internal strength. It is part of the hard-to-define secret hidden within everyone, and the attempt to capture this on film has been my life's work.” This is how portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh has described the attraction of his work.

In 1924, aged 16, Karsh emigrated to Canada, where he came under the care of his uncle, George Nakash, an established photographer. That is when Karsh discovered his enthusiasm for photography and, with the aid of his uncle, learned the fundamentals of the art. In 1928 George Nakash succeeded in securing an an apprenticeship for his nephew with Boston portrait photographer John H. Garo, to whom Karsh owes a well-trained observant eye for the great masters of painting and art in general. In 1932 Karsh opened his own portrait studio in Ottawa. There he quickly acquired the reputation of an exceptionally talented portrait photographer, whose clientele included high-ranking individuals in politics, science and the arts. In 1941 Karsh achieved his international breakthrough with his famous portrait of Winston Churchill, this picture of a grouchy Churchill appeared on the title page of Life magazine and to this day it is still one of the most reproduced portraits. In his work Krash did not restrict himself to his own studio. He actually preferred to take portraits of his sitters in their own familiar environment. Karsh published his portraits in numerous photographic volumes and frequently revealed the pictures' histories in brief anecdotes.

Information from 20^th Century Photography, Museum Ludwig Cologne, Taschen.