Lawyer unknowingly buys stolen Winston Churchill portrait worth millions: Like having aMona Lisa
A lawyer and passionate art collector thought he had bought a signed copy of an iconic 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill but ended up possessing the stolen original copy.Nicola Cassinelli, 34, had been looking for something eye-popping to hang in his new apartment in Italy when he came across a signed copy of “The Roaring Lion” for sale in Sotheby’s online catalog in May 2022.The black-and-white photograph is one of the famous depictions of Churchill, with the former world leader scowling down the lens, and has appeared on the UK’s five-pound banknote since September 2016.Cassinelli bid over $5,300 (£4,200), believing it was the perfect piece for his apartment.“It immediately grabbed my attention, not just for its beauty but because I am fascinated with the figure of Winston Churchill,” Cassinelli told The Telegraph on Sunday.“This was the emblematic photo that captured his anger, the strength of the free world – good that triumphs over evil.
It’s historic.”His bid was accepted, and two weeks later, after paying an additional $2,500 in customs, shipping, and tax charges, he had the iconic photo hanging in his apartment.Excited about the piece of history, Cassinelli showed it to all his guests and thought nothing more of it.However, unbeknownst to the lawyer and Sotheby, he had not bought a signed copy but the original.Renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh snapped the iconic portrait in 1941 in the Speaker’s office just after Churchill delivered a rousing wartime address to Canadian lawmakers.The original photograph was signed by Karsh and gifted to the Ottawa hotel Fairmont Fairmont Château Laurier, where the photographer lived and worked towards the end of his life.It remained in the lobby for years and was a tourist attraction for the hotel until it was stolen between Christmas Day, 2021, and Jan.6, 2022, and replaced with a forgery.The swap was only uncovered months later, in August, when a hotel worker noticed the frame wasn’t hung p...