Yousuf Karsh (1908–2002)
Author of Karsh: A Fifty-Year Retrospective
About the Author
Image credit: Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002), self-portrait, 1938, Ottawa, Ont. (Yousuf Karsh / Library and Archives Canada / PA-212511)
Works by Yousuf Karsh
Canada: As Seen by the Camera of Yousuf Karsh and Described in Words by John Fisher (1960) 12 copies, 1 review
Yousuf Karsh : Helden aus Licht und Schatten ; [Buch zur Ausstellung des Deutschen Historischen Museums vom 6. Dezember 2000 bis zum 27. Februar 2001] (2000) — Photographer — 2 copies
Associated Works
Relativity: The Special and the General Theory (1916) — Photographer, some editions — 5,122 copies, 40 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1908-12-23
- Date of death
- 2002-07-13
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- photographer
- Awards and honors
- Order of Canada (Officer, 1967)
Order of Canada (Companion, 1990) - Short biography
- As an Armenian in Turkey, the young Karsh endured persecution and privation. In 1924, at age 16, he immigrated to Canada, joining his uncle, who was a photographer, in Sherbrooke, Quebec. From 1928 to 1931 he served as an apprentice to a Boston painter and portrait photographer and briefly attended art school. Returning to Canada in 1932, he was employed by an Ottawa photographer, whose studio Karsh leased after his employer retired. He was appointed official portrait photographer of the Canadian government in 1935 and became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1947.
- Nationality
- Turkey
Canada - Birthplace
- Mardin, Turkey
- Places of residence
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Place of death
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Burial location
- Notre Dame Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Members
Reviews
The term "iconic" gets tossed around a lot, but that is what this book consists of: iconic images. Whether you know it or not, Karsh is the photographyer who probably shaped your image of who Hemingway is, who Churchill is, who Einstein is, who Bogart is, and on, and on. The photographic school on display is classic, formal, and dramatic mid-century 20th century photography. It is quite grand in style while still revealing the human being behind the image. Karsh is a great craftsman who show more brings unabashed enthusiasm for the power of celebrity -- in these two ways, he has probably most influenced the history of photography. show less
Karsh arguably is the finest black and white portrait photographer of the 20th Century. Churchill, Einstein, Gagarin, Hemingway, Helen Keller, Kennedy and a host of other famous personalities are captured in the lens and described is simple, honest text in this Canadian Centennial publication.
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 25
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 829
- Popularity
- #30,791
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 13
- ISBNs
- 25
- Languages
- 2
- Favorited
- 2
