(Ottawa) Was it the work of a professional? The manager of the Château Laurier hopes so. She doesn’t want – can’t – believe that someone inside has stolen the portrait of Winston Churchill, as Alain Lacoursière, nicknamed the “Columbo of art”, claims.
Posted at 6:12 p.m.
The police now have a lot of information in hand to solve this enigma that looks like a movie script: the offense was allegedly committed between December 25 and January 6, and they have in their possession the replica of the photograph.
The general manager of the chic Ottawa hotel, Geneviève Dumas, now relies on them. Her preferred track, to her, is that of a substitution made by someone who knew what he was doing, given the solidity of the locking system that protected the work.
“It takes specialized tools. It’s completely crossed out in the frame, in the wall. It takes more than a screwdriver,” she explains in an interview, referring to the famous shot by Canadian-Armenian photographer Yousuf Karsh.
The market value of this 1941 portrait of the former prime minister of Great Britain is close to $80,000, believes art appraisal consultant Alain Lacoursière.
According to this former investigator specializing in crimes related to art from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), the original was without a shadow of a doubt liquidated on the market by the thief. “It’s already sold, that’s clear,” he says.
“I hope someone takes care of their collection, because to have the mandate of a judge and go see at an auctioneer who sold it, you have to show that it is the same work”, remarks he on the phone.
And according to Alain Lacoursière, the thug could well come from within.
I’ve seen dozens of the same flights in Montreal. In one case, I found a painting that had been stolen from Place Ville Marie at an antique dealer on rue Saint-Denis. Whoever stole it, and he was the firm’s janitor.
Alain Lacoursière, former SPVM investigator
He has no difficulty imagining that at the Château Laurier, we played in the same film.
“It’s someone from the inside, often,” says the former sleuth. The other possibility is that it is a client “who is at the hotel regularly”, but certainly not a person passing through the Château Laurier, he adds.
” I can not believe it ”
The mere mention of the hypothesis arouses a devastated reaction from the general manager of the establishment.
“If I find out it’s someone inside…no, I can’t believe it. It is such a precious work for the hotel, for the Karsh family,” worries Geneviève Dumas.
“It belongs to the walls of the hotel. It’s here to be seen by the public. What would be the purpose of someone doing that… no. No. I don’t understand… I don’t see, ”she continues.
The photograph was taken in 1941, when Winston Churchill was visiting Canada during wartime. He had just delivered a speech in the Commons when Yousuf Karsh shot his portrait after confiscating his cigar – hence the leader’s gruff look.
There are a few original sets of this photograph, which was reproduced on the £5 banknotes. The one that hung on a wall of the Château Laurier has been missing since last Friday.