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Yousuf Karsh

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Photographer

The Resume

    (December 23, 1908-July 13, 2002)
    Born in Mardin, Turkey
    Birth name was Hovsep Karsh
    Settled in Canada
    Portrait photographer
    Published the collections 'Faces of Destiny' (1946), 'In Search of Greatness' (1962), 'Karsh Portfolio' (1967), 'Faces of Our Time' (1971), 'Karsh Canadians' (1978) and 'Karsh: American Legends' (1982)
    Best-known photo was 'The Roaring Lion' of a defiant Winston Churchill (1941)

Why he might be annoying:

    He pretentiously signed his photos 'Karsh of Ottawa.'
    He got Churchill's scowling countenance for 'The Roaring Lion' by plucking the cigar out of his mouth.
    He did a lot of retouching to make his portrait subjects look better.
    He said of his idolizing of the famous, 'It's the minority that make the world go round, not the majority.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He survived the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, with his sister starving to death as the family fled for Syria.
    He was a master of studio lighting.
    The Sunday Times wrote, 'When the famous start thinking of immortality, they call for Karsh.'
    He said, 'I know it would be more sensational if I were to photograph a famous person doing something ridiculous, but that is not my personal inclination.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 81.82% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 55 Votes: 78.18% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 20 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 81 Votes: 37.04% Annoying