Château Laurier Believes Swap of Famous Churchill Portrait Was by a ‘Professional’

Estrellita Karsh wife of legenary photographer Yousuf Karsh stands in front of the iconic 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill taken by her husband in the Speaker of the House of Commons' chambers on July 14, 2009. The Canadian Press/Fred Chartrand

The Château Laurier says it’s been able to narrow down a time frame of when it believes a famous portrait of Sir Winston Churchill was stolen from its walls: sometime between Christmas Day last year and Jan. 6.

The hotel appealed for help from the public yesterday after a staff member noticed the photo wasn’t hung correctly over the weekend, and an inspection revealed that the portrait was a copy, not an original.