Winston Churchill portrait stolen from Canadian hotel discovered in Italy

NEW YORK – A portrait of former UK prime minister Winston Churchill stolen from a luxury hotel in Ottawa has been located in Italy and will be returned later this month, Canadian authorities said on Wednesday, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

“The Roaring Lion” portrait, a photograph by Yousuf Karsh, was reported stolen from the Fairmont Château Laurier in August 2022, Ottawa police said in a statement. It was later revealed that the photograph had been taken between Dec 25, 2021, and Jan 6, 2022.

Police said that they determined that the portrait was sold through an auction house in London to a buyer in the northern Italian city of Genoa. Both individuals had been unaware that the piece was stolen.

A 43-year-old man from the Canadian province of Ontario was arrested in April and charged for the theft and trafficking of the portrait.

The Ottawa Police Service said the potrait’s purchaser would “ceremoniously hand over it to the Ottawa Police Service in Rome later this month”.

“The Roaring Lion” will then again be exposed as a “notable historic portrait” at the Fairmont Château Laurier. – BERNAMA