Life magazine, 21 May 1945
Signed by Winston Churchill
Featuring the portrait by Yousuf Karsh
The 21 May 1945 issue of Life magazine, featuring the iconic portrait of Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, signed "Winston S Churchill 1945" in ink on the lower cover.
The present issue was published immediately following Victory in Europe and captures Churchill at the height of his international standing. The cover photograph, taken by Yousuf Karsh in December 1941, followed Churchill’s address to the Canadian Parliament shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
According to Karsh’s own account, moments before the photograph was taken, he removed Churchill’s cigar from his mouth, prompting the statesman’s now-famous scowl. The resulting image—later titled The Roaring Lion—became the most enduring and widely recognized photographic likeness of Churchill, emblematic of defiance and wartime resolve.
Copies of this issue signed by Churchill are rare. Those inscribed and dated in 1945 are particularly desirable, situating the autograph firmly within the historical moment commemorated by the magazine itself.
The combination of Karsh’s celebrated portrait and Churchill’s signature creates an object that transcends its original function, uniting iconic imagery and autograph in a single contemporary artifact of the Second World War.
Life magazine, 21 May 1945
Signed by Winston Churchill
Featuring the portrait by Yousuf Karsh
The 21 May 1945 issue of Life magazine, featuring the iconic portrait of Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, signed "Winston S Churchill 1945" in ink on the lower cover.
The present issue was published immediately following Victory in Europe and captures Churchill at the height of his international standing. The cover photograph, taken by Yousuf Karsh in December 1941, followed Churchill’s address to the Canadian Parliament shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
According to Karsh’s own account, moments before the photograph was taken, he removed Churchill’s cigar from his mouth, prompting the statesman’s now-famous scowl. The resulting image—later titled The Roaring Lion—became the most enduring and widely recognized photographic likeness of Churchill, emblematic of defiance and wartime resolve.
Copies of this issue signed by Churchill are rare. Those inscribed and dated in 1945 are particularly desirable, situating the autograph firmly within the historical moment commemorated by the magazine itself.
The combination of Karsh’s celebrated portrait and Churchill’s signature creates an object that transcends its original function, uniting iconic imagery and autograph in a single contemporary artifact of the Second World War.
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