On this day (30th Dec) in 1941, one of the most famous portrait photographs was taken.
This is The Roaring Lion, a portrait of Winston Churchill shot by Yousuf Karsh.
Yousuf tells us in his book how that day unfolded. He was waiting for Churchill to finish his speech to the Canadian Parliament.
He was in no mood for portraiture and two minutes were all that he would allow me.
Churchill proceeded to pull out a cigar and starting chomping on it as he did.
Churchill’s cigar was ever present. I held out an ashtray, but he would not dispose of it. I went back to my camera and made sure that everything was all right technically. I waited; he continued to chomp vigorously at his cigar. I waited. Then I stepped toward him and, without premeditation, but ever so respectfully, I said, “Forgive me, sir,” and plucked the cigar out of his mouth. By the time I got back to my camera, he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me. It was at that instant that I took the photograph.
By plucking the cigar from Churchill’s mouth without permission, Karsh was able to create this now world famous photograph. His facial expression is a direct result of his being annoyed by the photographer!
It was said that Churchill exclaimed, “You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed”.
Thus, Karsh titled the photo, The Roaring Lion.
