Man who stole iconic portrait of Winston Churchill from hotel is jailed

Sky News

7 days ago

A man who stole an iconic wartime portrait of Sir Winston Churchill from a hotel has been jailed for nearly two years, according to media reports in Canada.
Police said the "Roaring Lion" portrait - which appears on the UK's £5 note - was stolen from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa in Canada sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and 6 January 2022.
It was replaced with a fake and the swap was only uncovered in August 2022 when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly and looked different from the others.
The portrait had been sold through an auction house in London to a private buyer and ended up in Rome, where two Canadian police detectives retrieved it.
Both seller and buyer were unaware that it had been stolen, police said.
Jeffrey Wood, from Ontario, was later arrested and admitted stealing the portrait, committing forgery and trafficking property obtained by crime in March, according to CBC News.
He was sentenced to "two years less a day" in prison at Ottawa Courthouse on Monday.
In Canada, a sentence of less than two years is served in a provincial jail, while sentences of more than two years are served in a federal prison.
The judge reportedly told Wood he was guilty of stealing a "cultural and historical" portrait that was a "point of national pride".
Justice Robert Wadden also told the court Wood said he had committed the crime to find money to help his brother, who was experiencing mental health struggles, CTV News reported.
The investigation by police in Ottawa had reportedly spanned several countries across two continents before Wood's arrest.
'Roaring Lion' back in its rightful place
The famous portrait was captured by renowned Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941 just after Sir Winston delivered a rousing wartime address to Canadian politicians.
Towards the end of his life, Mr Karsh signed and gifted the portrait to the hotel, where he had lived and worked.
The portrait was returned to the hotel in November after it surfaced in Italy.
Genevieve Dumas, the hotel's general manager, said when it was unveiled: "I can tell you that it is armed, locked, secured.