Italian man who bought Churchill portrait surprised by international art caper

An Italian art collector who bought a portrait of Winston Churchill says he was surprised to learn five months later the answer to a puzzling, high-profile heist might be hanging on his living room wall.

Nicola Cassinelli, a lawyer in Genoa, Italy, plans to attend a ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome next Thursday to mark the return of Yousuf Karsh’s signed 1941 photograph of the British leader.

Police say the “The Roaring Lion” was stolen from Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and Jan. 6, 2022, and replaced with a copy.

It was only months later, in August, when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly and looked different than the others.

Cassinelli, who describes himself as a “small-scale art collector,” purchased the portrait in May 2022 through an online Sotheby’s auction for 5,292 British pounds.

The famous image was taken by Karsh during Churchill’s wartime visit to the Canadian Parliament in December 1941.

Cassinelli says he got a phone call from the auction house in October 2022 advising him not to sell or otherwise transfer the portrait due to an investigation in Ottawa.

“I was surprised because I didn’t know about the theft in Canada,” he said Thursday in an interview.

Just over a year passed before the auction house called him again, asking if it could provide his contact information to Canadian police, “because they wanted to speak with me.”

While taken aback by the twist, Cassinelli was also “thrilled” because he realized his purchase appeared to be a particularly special print of the renowned photo — the one Karsh had given to the Ottawa hotel where he and his wife had lived for many years.

“I realized that, in my living room, a real piece of history was hanging.”

Cassinelli took the portrait to the Italian police so they could work on the case with Canadian authorities. A call soon after from Italian investigators indicated “my portrait was the one that was stolen almost two years before in Canada,” he said.

Cassinelli said while he bought the portrait in good faith, it should return to Canada where tourists and others can enjoy seeing it.

He said he has been “partially reimbursed” for the cost of the portrait, but added he is not especially concerned about his financial loss.

“I wanted the ‘Roaring Lion’ to be at his home.”

The day he delivered the portrait to the Italian police, Cassinelli bought an inexpensive copy of Karsh’s famous photo of Churchill that now hangs in its place at his home. Though it doesn’t have the same historic significance, it is “very important to me because it reminds me of this strange story.”

“And it’s something fun to speak about with friends and family at home when we have dinner together.”

Ottawa police said this week they arrested a 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ont., in April and have charged him with stealing and trafficking the Karsh print.

The man faces charges that include forgery, theft over $5,000 and trafficking in property obtained by crime exceeding $5,000.

His lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, said Thursday that “we have begun to discuss with the Crown possible resolution of the charges.”

By Jim Bronskill

— With files from Anja Karadeglija