Estrellita karsh biography of michael

Evanne Allen

Yousuf Karsh was a patient photographer. He took his time in order to make his subjects comfortable, easing them out of their shells to capture their true personalities. Ann Shumard, senior curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, describes Karsh’s photographs as both revealing and respectful.

 “Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits” is the National Portrait Gallery’s first exhibition dedicated solely to the work of this renowned photographer. In celebration of a gift to the Portrait Gallery from his wife, Estrellita Karsh, of more than one hundred portraits, fifty of his works have been displayed in two installations, the second of which is now on view through November 2, 2014.

Walking between the rows of photographs, Estrellita Karsh shared recollections and accounts of her husband’s encounters with many of his famous subjects. She tells stories of her experience standing next to Michael DeBakey during open heart surgery and recounts the story of her husband deftly removing a cigar from Winston Churchill’s mouth before taking the infamous “Roaring Lion” photograph.

The exhibition opens with a black-and-white photograph of Estrellita taken on the night of her fortieth birthday. She is dressed in a caftan that was a gift to her late husband from