OTTAWA — A stolen portrait of Winston Churchill that was traded for a questionable fake during the pandemic is returning to its rightful place today, after two Ottawa police detectives traveled to Rome to retrieve it.

The original work will be returned to its place on the reading room wall of the chic Fairmont Château Laurier hotel during a homecoming ceremony this morning.

The most famous depiction of Churchill, known as “The Roaring Lion”, appears on the United Kingdom’s five pound note and shows a wartime Prime Minister staring into the camera.

Ottawa police launched an investigation after the heist was reported in 2022 and eventually found the painting overseas, in Genoa, Italy.

Police have charged a man from Powassan, Ont., just outside North Bay, with counterfeiting, theft and trafficking. His case is before the courts.

Renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh took this iconic portrait in 1941 in the President’s office on Parliament Hill, just after Churchill delivered a gripping war speech to Canadian lawmakers.

Toward the end of his life, Karsh signed and gifted the portrait to the hotel where he had lived and worked.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press