Canada has finally regained possession of the stolen portrait of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, found in Italy last week. It was handed over to investigators from the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) on Thursday at 11 a.m. local Italian time during an official ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome.
The famous portrait entitled The Roaring Liontaken in 1941 by Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, was stolen more than two years ago from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa. It was only six months later that hotel employees realized that the original work had been replaced by a copy.
The institution’s general director, Geneviève Dumas, was in the Italian capital to celebrate the restitution of the work. She explained to the Italian and Canadian government representatives present on site the chronology of events, from the discovery of the can of worms to the discovery of the portrait on Italian soil.
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Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel General Manager Geneviève Dumas looks at the famous portrait that will be able to return to Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel
Ms. Dumas said she “looks forward to the photograph being returned to its original place and finally being admired again by people all over the world.”
The portrait will “take the plane” soon
The hotel’s general manager added that the photograph would be delivered on Thursday “to a company specializing in the repatriation of works of art” and that representatives of the SPOthe Italian police and the Chateau Laurier will all have to sign a document for the repatriation to take place. “He should be on a flight to Canada shortly and there will be some customs inspection work, which seems a little complicated,” Dumas said.
She said the portrait should be back on the walls of the Château Laurier by the end of October.
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It was thanks to the efforts of the Ottawa police, the London police and the Italian Carabinieri that the stolen portrait of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was officially handed over to Canadian authorities in Rome on Thursday morning. (File photo)
Photo: Yousuf Karsh
As for Canada’s ambassador to Italy, Elissa Goldberg, she highlighted the collaboration between the two countries. “We are excited to celebrate the return of a Canadian treasure that was taken from us a few years ago, and I would like to point out that Canadian and Italian authorities have demonstrated their strength in the fight against the trafficking of cultural works,” said Ms. Goldberg.
To close the ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage, Isabelle Mondou, unveiled the rediscovered portrait.
Few new details on the investigation
According to Ottawa Police Detective Sergeant Akiva Geller, cIt is thanks to the combined efforts of SPOthe London police and the Italian Carabinieri that the portrait can be repatriated. He explained on Thursday morning his firm commitment to getting his hands on the original portrait as soon as he saw where it was being sold, revealing very few new details about the investigation.
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The man who bought the portrait of Churchill without knowing it was the original, Nicola Cassinelli (left), the Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage, Isabelle Mondou (centre) and the Canadian Ambassador to Italy, Elissa Goldberg (right), were gathered Thursday morning in Rome, for the official presentation of the portrait of Winston Churchill stolen in Ottawa and found in Italy.
Photo: Associated Press / Alessandra Tarantino
THE SPO revealed Thursday that Jeffrey Iain James Wood, an Ontario man, is accused of stealing the original portrait and replacing it with a fake. The 43-year-old was arrested and released on bail.
According to court documents obtained by CBCMr. Wood faces six charges, including possession of property obtained by crime and possession of property obtained by crime for the purpose of trafficking. None of the charges against him have yet been proven in court.
Purchased by an Italian collector
It was lawyer Nicola Cassinelli of Genoa, Italy, who bought the work for $10,000 at an auction at the house. Sotheby’sin May 2022. He thought it was from one of the many copies of the Roaring Lion which can be found online and at several auctions
he confessed to CBC.
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Italian lawyer Nicola Cassinelli bought the work at auction and believes it would have been criminal to take The Roaring Lion away from its rightful owners.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Five months later, the collector received a phone call from the auction house asking if they could put him in touch with the SPOAgents later confirmed to him that he owned the original portrait, which some art experts estimate is worth six figures.
Mr. Cassinelli, who says he is “passionate about history and Winston Churchill,” attended the ceremony Thursday morning. Although he said he was grateful “to have been able to admire the portrait personally for two years,” the lawyer said he felt a duty to hand it over to the right person.
“I know that this portrait has a special meaning for Canadians, but also for everyone, since Mr. Churchill’s speech to the Canadian Parliament changed the course of the Second World War and of history,” said the Italian collector.
The general manager of the Château Laurier thanked him for handing over the work to the authorities.
“He didn’t have to give it back to us, since he bought it authentically. When he understood the importance of this Canadian heritage, he said to himself that he had to return it to its origin,” explained Ms. Dumas.
THE SPO indicated that another ceremony will likely be held when the portrait returns to Canadian soil and that at that time, further details about this intriguing affair will be revealed.
