Yousuf Karsh CC RCA FRPS (December 23, 1908 – July 13, 2002) was an Armenian–Canadian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals.

His iconic 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill was a breakthrough point in his career, through which he took numerous photos of known political leaders, men and women of arts and sciences.

[13] His illiterate father travelled extensively to trade furniture, rugs, and spices, while his mother was "an educated woman, a rarity in those days, and was extremely well read, particularly in her beloved Bible.

[6] Karsh and his family escaped to a refugee camp in Aleppo, Syria in 1922 in a month-long journey with a Kurdish caravan.

[22] He immediately moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec to live with his maternal uncle George Nakashian (Nakash), a portrait photographer.

[23] He achieved initial success by capturing the attention of Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who helped Karsh arrange photography sessions with visiting dignitaries.

[1] Karsh was also introduced into the Rideau Hall social circle, and his portraits of Lord Bessborough, Governor General from 1931 to 1935, and his wife were widely published.

[18][17] Churchill is particularly noted for his posture and facial expression, which have been compared to the wartime feelings that prevailed in the UK: persistence in the face of an all-conquering enemy.

[17] USC Fisher Museum of Art described it as a "defiant and scowling portrait [which] became an instant icon of Britain's stand against fascism.

[30] On August 19, 2022, it was discovered that a Karsh-signed portrait residing in the reading room of the Château Laurier, Ottawa, had been stolen and replaced with a fake.

Two years later Ottawa police announced that the photo had been located in Italy and had arrested an Ontario man in connection with its theft.

[35][36][37] During World War II, Karsh photographed political and military leaders and began capturing photos of writers, actors, artists, musicians, scientists, and celebrities in the post-war period.

[24] His other notable portraits include George Bernard Shaw at an old age (1943), Dwight D. Eisenhower as a five-star general and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (1946), American artist Georgia O'Keeffe in her New Mexico studio (1956), and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev swathed in fur (1963).

Besides portraits of the famous, Karsh photographed assembly line workers in Windsor, Ontario, commissioned by the Ford Motor Company of Canada.

[28] His landscape photographs of Rome and the Holy Land were included in books in collaboration with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, an annual poster for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and other works.

The Economist wrote upon his death that Karsh was "for half a century perhaps the greatest portrait photographer in the monumental manner".

[16] The Metropolitan Museum of Art described him as "one of the greatest portrait photographers of the twentieth century [who] achieved a distinct style in his theatrical lighting".

[49] The Canadian Encyclopedia noted that his portraits "have come to represent the public images of major international figures of politics, science, and culture in the twentieth century".

Among attendees were George Furey, the Speaker of the Senate, and Arif Virani, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.