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KARSH RETURNS `IN SPIRIT' TO CHATEAU LAURIER SUITE
Isobel Warren is a Newmarket-based freelance writer
Toronto Star, Canada
http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/24170 8
Aug 2 2007
Hotel pays tribute to Canada's famed photographer who was a resident
for 18 years
Aug 02, 2007 04:30 AM Isobel Warren Special to the Star
OTTAWA-"When the famous start thinking of immortality, they call for
Karsh of Ottawa," a writer once commented.
Now the legendary photographer is close to immortality himself.
His iconic portraits - Winston Churchill, Pierre Trudeau, Albert
Einstein, British royalty and international stars of politics and
culture - hang in permanent collections in major galleries worldwide.
Many are also prominently displayed in Ottawa's Fairmont Château
Laurier where Yousuf Karsh and his wife, Estrellita, lived for
18 years.
Mrs. Karsh recently returned to the Château to unveil a collection
of Karsh photos in Suite 358, now designated the Karsh Suite.
A visit from Mrs. Karsh is cause for celebration, "like welcoming a
long-absent family member back home," said Château general manager
Claude Sauve.
"Over the course of our history, the Karshes truly became part of
the Fairmont Château Laurier family."
Mrs. Karsh agreed.
"It was a wonderful apartment; we loved being there," she said. "And
more than anything, we loved being in the Château."
The couple moved to Boston in 2000 and Karsh died there in 2002. He
was 93.
The Karsh Suite is a memorial but not a museum. It is rented just
like any other room in the hotel though the price tag ($1,800 a night)
tends to set it apart.
For business travellers, the spacious drawing room adjoining a
dining-cum-boardroom plus kitchen, bedroom, two bathrooms, loads
of cupboards and a prestigious address at Sussex and Wellington
are appealing.
The Château was built in 1912 but the section containing this and
three other "presidential suites" dates from 1929.
Exquisite wood and plaster mouldings accent each room and frame the
living room fireplace.
The wondrously archaic kitchen ("they didn't do much cooking,"
explained a Château staffer) boasts its original leather floor -
10-centimetre tiles of forest green and tan - and a massive antique
refrigerator.
A modern whirlpool tub dominates the bathroom alongside a daunting
marble-lined shower with three tiers of jets.
A collection of rare Karsh books, a DVD special of the artist's work
and many other personal touches complete the decor.
The collection includes portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Karsh, a solo picture
of Mrs. Karsh, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, George Bernard Shaw,
Barbara Ann Scott, Shirley Tabb, Grey Owl and Karen Kain.
"The Karsh Suite is the actual suite in which the Karshes lived,"
Sauve explained.
"It is our way to commemorate both Mr. Karsh as one of Canada's
national treasures, and Mr. and Mrs. Karsh for their patronage to
Fairmont Château Laurier over the years."
Yousef Karsh was born in Armenia and came to Canada with his family
when he was 16, working with his uncle, a portrait photographer,
in Sherbrooke, Que. After he opened his Ottawa studio, then-prime
minister William Lyon Mackenzie King discovered him and sent visiting
dignitaries his way for portraits.
His 1941 photo of Winston Churchill is said to be the most reproduced
photographic portrait in history.
He was the only Canadian in the 2000 International Who's Who list of
the 100 most notable people of the last century - 51 of whom Karsh
had photographed.
Karsh's studio, on the Château's sixth floor from 1973 to 1992,
is now a guest room.
His photographic equipment was donated to Ottawa's Museum of Science
and Technology.
The National Archives preserves more than 300,000 Karsh items,
including negatives, prints, transparencies, manuscripts and
audiovisual materials.
--Boundary_(ID_2xJMtDaXYwvia66D3yvCEA) --
Isobel Warren is a Newmarket-based freelance writer
Toronto Star, Canada
http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/24170 8
Aug 2 2007
Hotel pays tribute to Canada's famed photographer who was a resident
for 18 years
Aug 02, 2007 04:30 AM Isobel Warren Special to the Star
OTTAWA-"When the famous start thinking of immortality, they call for
Karsh of Ottawa," a writer once commented.
Now the legendary photographer is close to immortality himself.
His iconic portraits - Winston Churchill, Pierre Trudeau, Albert
Einstein, British royalty and international stars of politics and
culture - hang in permanent collections in major galleries worldwide.
Many are also prominently displayed in Ottawa's Fairmont Château
Laurier where Yousuf Karsh and his wife, Estrellita, lived for
18 years.
Mrs. Karsh recently returned to the Château to unveil a collection
of Karsh photos in Suite 358, now designated the Karsh Suite.
A visit from Mrs. Karsh is cause for celebration, "like welcoming a
long-absent family member back home," said Château general manager
Claude Sauve.
"Over the course of our history, the Karshes truly became part of
the Fairmont Château Laurier family."
Mrs. Karsh agreed.
"It was a wonderful apartment; we loved being there," she said. "And
more than anything, we loved being in the Château."
The couple moved to Boston in 2000 and Karsh died there in 2002. He
was 93.
The Karsh Suite is a memorial but not a museum. It is rented just
like any other room in the hotel though the price tag ($1,800 a night)
tends to set it apart.
For business travellers, the spacious drawing room adjoining a
dining-cum-boardroom plus kitchen, bedroom, two bathrooms, loads
of cupboards and a prestigious address at Sussex and Wellington
are appealing.
The Château was built in 1912 but the section containing this and
three other "presidential suites" dates from 1929.
Exquisite wood and plaster mouldings accent each room and frame the
living room fireplace.
The wondrously archaic kitchen ("they didn't do much cooking,"
explained a Château staffer) boasts its original leather floor -
10-centimetre tiles of forest green and tan - and a massive antique
refrigerator.
A modern whirlpool tub dominates the bathroom alongside a daunting
marble-lined shower with three tiers of jets.
A collection of rare Karsh books, a DVD special of the artist's work
and many other personal touches complete the decor.
The collection includes portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Karsh, a solo picture
of Mrs. Karsh, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, George Bernard Shaw,
Barbara Ann Scott, Shirley Tabb, Grey Owl and Karen Kain.
"The Karsh Suite is the actual suite in which the Karshes lived,"
Sauve explained.
"It is our way to commemorate both Mr. Karsh as one of Canada's
national treasures, and Mr. and Mrs. Karsh for their patronage to
Fairmont Château Laurier over the years."
Yousef Karsh was born in Armenia and came to Canada with his family
when he was 16, working with his uncle, a portrait photographer,
in Sherbrooke, Que. After he opened his Ottawa studio, then-prime
minister William Lyon Mackenzie King discovered him and sent visiting
dignitaries his way for portraits.
His 1941 photo of Winston Churchill is said to be the most reproduced
photographic portrait in history.
He was the only Canadian in the 2000 International Who's Who list of
the 100 most notable people of the last century - 51 of whom Karsh
had photographed.
Karsh's studio, on the Château's sixth floor from 1973 to 1992,
is now a guest room.
His photographic equipment was donated to Ottawa's Museum of Science
and Technology.
The National Archives preserves more than 300,000 Karsh items,
including negatives, prints, transparencies, manuscripts and
audiovisual materials.
--Boundary_(ID_2xJMtDaXYwvia66D3yvCEA) --