Yousuf Karsh
Pablo Picasso, 1954
Gelatin silver print
''Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer, it is my task to reveal it if I can.”
Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) was an American-Canadian photographer, best known for his portraits of famous individuals including Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, and Winston Churchill. He is often described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. He learned photography at his uncle’s portrait studio, and later became an apprentice for John H. Garo in Boston. He opened his own studio in Ottawa in 1932, where he shot the portraits of many distinguished historical figures. Karsh’s works can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Royal Collection in London.