In 1922, Yousuf Karsh's family fled their home in Armenia to avoid Turkish persecution. Two years later the Karsh family sent their son Yousuf to live with an uncle in Canada. Here Karsh learned the basics of photography from his uncle, a professional photographer. When Karsh became a serious student he was sent to Boston to learn from his uncle’s friend, John H. Garo. While this apprenticeship was to only last for six months, Karsh stayed for three years learning the technical aspects of photography.

By 1931 Karsh left Boston and set up his own studio in Ottawa. The capital of Canada, Karsh hoped he would get an opportunity to photograph leading statesmen and international figures. Success was not immediate for the photographer, but experience gained from his work with the Ottawa Little Theatre helped him develop the dramatic lighting that is a hallmark of Karsh's work. While working at the theatre, Karsh got his chance to photograph his first important figures. The Governor General’s son, who was an actor at the theatre, convinced his parents to sit for Karsh. The resulting images appeared in The Illustrated London News, The Tattler, and The Sketch, which led to many more commissions.

Bibliographic References: Karsh: A Fifty Year Retrospective. Yousuf Karsh. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1983. Karsh Portraits. Yousuf Karsh. Boston, University of Toronto Press, 1976.

Throughout his career, Karsh has photographed the leading figures of the day. Portraits of Pope Pius XII, Albert Einstein, and Dwight D. Eisenhower are included in the Eastman House collection. Each image typifies Karsh's formal style. With plain backdrops and dramatic lighting, Karsh creates idealizations of the sitter's public image. Four additional images of steelworkers represent the photographer's work outside the studio.

Fifty of the Karsh prints at George Eastman House were a gift of the photographer. Four dye imbibition color prints of Pope Pius XII are on extended loan from the Eastman Kodak Company. Two photographs were gifts from Dr. Mark Ellingson. The photograph of Thomas J. Hargrave was a gift of 3M, ex-collection Louis Walton Sipley. The offset lithograph of Marshall McLuhan is from a portfolio that was a gift of the Polaroid Corporation.

Sean Corcoran

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