Yousuf Karsh: career timeline

Canadian · 1908–2002 · Works grouped by the decade they were made (the cataloged date, or a date in the signature or title), not by sale date. 46 of 69 lots (67% of works) have a usable creation date; the others are listed at the end by the decade they were sold. Each work is shown once, even when it sold more than once.

Yousuf Karsh: works at auction by decade the work was made. Each work counted once; medians use sold works only, in US dollars.

Decade made	Works	Sold	Median sold price	Main medium
1940s	16	13	$2.9kSign up	Photograph
1950s	16	14	$6.6kSign up	Photograph
1960s	9	6	$1.1kSign up	Photograph
1970s	4	3	$3.5kSign up	Photograph
1980s	1	1	$63Sign up	Photograph

Where does mine fit?

Enter what you know about a work by Yousuf Karsh to see the closest recorded works from the same period, with their auction results. These are past records only, not a valuation: condition, authenticity, provenance and the market all change what a work brings. For an auction estimate of your work, get a free auction estimate.

Year madeHeight (in)Width (in)MediumSubject

1940s 16 works

Sold: 13 of 16
Median: $2.9kSign up
Average: $5kSign up
Typical size: 20 × 15.5 in (50 × 40 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (16)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

1941 Winston Churchill$10.2kSign up
1941 The Roaring Lion (Portrait of Winston Churchill)$4.8kSign up
1941 Winston Churchill$16kSign up
1941 Winston Churchill$7.5kSign up
1941 Winston Churchill$8kSign up
1941 The Roaring Lion$2.6kSign up
1941 Winston ChurchillUnsold
1941 Sir Winston Churchill$1.3kSign up
1941 Winston Churchill$8.1kSign up
1943 George Bernard Shaw$538Sign up
1943 George Bernard ShawUnsold
1943 George Bernard Shaw$2.9kSign up

Show 4 more (1940s)

1950s 16 works

Sold: 14 of 16
Median: $6.6kSign up
Average: $8kSign up
Typical size: 19.5 × 15.5 in (50 × 40 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (16)
Subjects: —

Show 4 more (1950s)

1960s 9 works

Sold: 6 of 9
Median: $1.1kSign up
Average: $2kSign up
Typical size: 13.5 × 10.5 in (34 × 27 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (9)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

1960 John F. KennedyUnsold
1961 President and Mrs. John Kennedy$1.5kSign up
1963 Nikita Khrushchev$538Sign up
1963 Estrelita Karsh$264Sign up
1965 Joan Miró, ParisUnsold
1965 Marc ChagallUnsold
1965 Joan Miró$3kSign up
1965 Joan Miró$6.3kSign up
c. 1966 Portrait of Edward Steichen$608Sign up

1970s 4 works

Sold: 3 of 4
Median: $3.5kSign up
Average: $4.6kSign up
Typical size: 19.5 × 15.5 in (50 × 40 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (4)
Subjects: —

1980s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $63Sign up
Average: $63Sign up
Typical size: 14 × 10.5 in (35 × 27 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

1983 Portrait of Herman Wouk$63Sign up

Creation date not recorded

23 works have no cataloged or signed date. They are grouped here by the decade they were last sold, which says nothing about when they were made.

Undated, sold in the 2000s 3 works

Sold: 3 of 3
Median: $4.3kSign up
Average: $3.1kSign up
Typical size: 19 × 15 in (48 × 38 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (3)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

sold 2002 Untitled - Portrait of a Gentleman [Stanley Knowles?]$72Sign up
sold 2006 Sir Winston Churchill$5.1kSign up
sold 2009 Georgia O'Keeffe$4.3kSign up

Undated, sold in the 2010s 7 works

Sold: 5 of 7
Median: $1.7kSign up
Average: $2kSign up
Typical size: 12.5 × 11 in (32 × 28 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (6), Other (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

sold 2012 Audrey Hepburn$2.3kSign up
sold 2012 Marc ChagallUnsold
sold 2013 The Windsors - 35 years later$1.7kSign up
sold 2017 The Roaring Lion$4.4kSign up
sold 2018 Lincoln's Death Mask$1.2kSign up
sold 2018 - ''Albert Einstein''- black and whiteResult not published

Show 1 more (2010s)

sold 2019 Douglas Leechman, First Director of the Glenbow Museum$176Sign up

Undated, sold in the 2020s 13 works

Sold: 9 of 13
Median: $1.1kSign up
Average: $2.5kSign up
Typical size: 19.5 × 15.5 in (50 × 40 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (12), Other (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

sold 2021 John Walker$350Sign up
sold 2022 Clark Gable$400Sign up
sold 2023 SteinbeckUnsold
sold 2024 Gravure$90Sign up
sold 2024 General Dwight EisenhowerUnsold
sold 2024 Peter LorreUnsold

Show 6 more (2020s)

sold 2024 Pablo Casals$983Sign up
sold 2024 The Roaring Lion$2.8kSign up
sold 2024 ColorResult not published
sold 2024 Georgia O'Keeffe$8.5kSign up
sold 2025 Untitled (Ansel Adams)$1.4kSign up
sold 2025 Untitled (Dr. Edwin Land)$1.1kSign up

…and 1 more works from this group in the full results list.

Medians and averages count sold works only (each work's most recent sale), in US dollars at the sale-date rate. Works cataloged as “attributed to”, “circle of” or similar are left out. All Yousuf Karsh auction results →