Yousuf Karsh photographed some of the most important figures of the twentieth century, including Ernest Hemingway, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Winston Churchill. Karsh brought forth the personality and subtleties of each sitter. His most famous portrait of Winston Churchill in 1947 stands as the most recognized and symbolic portrait of the politician ever recorded.
Karsh was born in 1908 to Armenian parents and emigrated to Canada in 1925. Karsh is a two-time recipient of the Order of Canada for lifetime achievement. Major retrospectives have been held at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the National Portrait Gallery, London. Collections include the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the National Gallery of Canada. Nicholas Metivier Gallery represents the Estate of Yousuf Karsh in Canada.