(Ottawa) The mystery remains: how did they pull it off? Is it a clandestine operation carried out in the heart of darkness? An elaborate ruse to fool security? Something else ?
Posted at 11:42
One thing remains certain: those who stole a famous portrait of Winston Churchill from the Château Laurier in Ottawa planned the theft meticulously.
For the past eight months no one had realized that the photograph displayed in the Reading Lounge was a fake.
“This theft was very premeditated,” said Bonnie Czegledi, a lawyer specializing in international art and cultural heritage laws.
As a general rule, art thefts do not surprise her. However, this larceny surprised her. “The subject is so specific,” she says.
The theft also baffles the biographers of the former British prime minister.
Historian Andrew Robert says it “is a rather bizarre story”.
“He’s not a Picasso, though,” says Ron Cohen, president of the Sir Winston Churchill Society in Ottawa. That said, it is probably the most famous photographic portrait of a political figure. It is an extraordinary work. »
The portrait has an important connection with the Château Laurier. Its author, Yousuf Karsh, remained there for 18 years. The hotel housed his studio for 20 years.
When Mr. Churchill came to give a speech in the Canadian Parliament in 1941, then Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King asked the photographer to do a portrait of the Old Lion.
In the photograph, we see Churchill standing, his hand on a chair, the other on his waist, his gaze determined, ready to do battle with the enemy and personifying alone the resistance of the allies to the Axis forces.
Mr. Karsh’s estate says the artist’s entire portfolio, 350,000 photos and negatives, was turned over to Library and Archives Canada upon his death in 1992. No other copies were made.
But Mr. Karsh had made several copies of this famous photograph.
Thus, Sotheby’s in London had put one up for sale at an auction in 2020. Its value was estimated between US$20,000 and US$26,000. The company declined to disclose the sale price.
The Rideau Club of Ottawa also has a copy which is on display in the Churchill Room.
Another copy is on display in the office of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Richard Langworth, a Churchill specialist at Hillsdale College in New Hampshire, doesn’t understand the theft. He wonders why this photograph “is so unique”.
“What’s the point?” he asks. And, in addition, replace it with a fake? »
Some experts believe the thieves were working for a specific buyer.
“It’s really the model of a theft carried out by organized crime”, maintains Mme Czegledi.
Theft at the Museum of Fine Arts
The discovery of the disappearance of the portrait coincides with the 50e anniversary of the largest art theft in Canadian history from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
On September 4, 1972, using a ladder, three men were able to access a skylight on the roof of the museum. Taking advantage of the fact that the alarm system was deactivated, they descended there using a rope 15 meters long. When they got to the first floor, they attracted three security guards and tied them up. They then seized 55 works of art, including 17 canvases.
Among these: a Corot, a Rembrandt and a Delacroix.
“A spokesperson for the museum said at the time that these thieves had very safe taste,” says Ms.me Czegledi.
What followed was just as dramatic: a demand for ransom given to the director of the museum, the discovery of a medallion in a telephone booth, the discovery of a painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder in a locker room at a train station and a project secret rendezvous with the thieves.
But at the end of the journey: no other canvas, no other jewel has been recovered. No one has been arrested in connection with this spectacular theft.
“The problem is that the beauty of these objects makes us forget the seriousness of this crime, deplores Mme Czegledi. A preconceived idea wants that it is only a window dressing. It’s wrong, it’s really something serious. »
A transnational crime
In a statement, the Department of Canadian Heritage recalls that art trafficking has evolved. “From a cultural issue, it has become associated with transnational organized crime as well as a source of funding for terrorist groups. »
“We can consider it as a problem of national security, concedes Mme Czegledi. It has been observed that known terrorists and criminals have diversified their assets in the art world. »
Canada does not have specific data on art thefts. This is part of thefts against property.
In the United States, the FBI has created a unit specially trained in art theft. Only one similar unit exists in Canada: the Integrated Works of Art Investigation Team of the Sûreté du Québec created in 2008.
Mme Czegledi would like to see more serious investigations. She wants prosecutors not to hesitate to prosecute criminals in court. This could help judges who do not understand the arts community when rendering a verdict or sentencing.
“Because of all this, we are a vulnerable target. »