If you heard the name of the famous photograph, The Roaring Lion, and asked to see it, I’m sure you would be confused. Firstly there is no image of an actual lion in this photograph. Instead you would see a rather dour looking Winston Churchill. Hardly a lion and at 67 years old, not nearly as strong or powerful as an actual lion.
As for the roaring? Churchill isn’t even opening his mouth, let alone roaring at the photographer. Maybe he’s humming but that’s about the only sound he could make when this picture was snapped.
But in symbolism, Great Britain has long been represented by a rampant lion, particularly Scotland. This is supposed to go back to ancient times. How a lion came to represent a nation without any lions at all, is truly one of life’s big wonders. Perhaps a better symbol of Britain could be a zookeeper. They are the people that not only brought the lion to the north, but take care of it as well.
Anyhow, if Britain is a lion, then in World War II, Churchill could have been said to be its voice. So perhaps that is the explanation of the name of this portrait.
But here is the real reason for the name of the portrait. The photographer, Karsh, asked Churchill to put his cigar in an ashtray since the smoke would interfere with the photo. Churchill refused so Karsh grabbed the cigar from Churchill while asking for forgiveness. Only then did Karsh take the photos, including the famous one where Churchill is having a nicotine fit.
After the session, Winston Churchill said, “You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed.” And that is the official reason for the name of the picture.
It’s interesting that this photograph, which was hung in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa (which is signed by Karsh) is worth millions. It was stolen from its place last year and sold for only about $10 000. It is my belief that the negative is worth the most because more photos could be made from it. Library and Archives Canada holds that and is keeping the price of prints up by promising not to make any more photographs off the negative.
