Man behind Churchill portrait heist going to jail

The man behind an international art heist that began in Ottawa is going to jail.

Some time between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022, Jeffrey Wood stole the world-famous portrait of a scowling, wartime Winston Churchill, titled The Roaring Lion, from Ottawa’s Château Laurier hotel, replacing it with a fake. 

In March, Wood pleaded guilty to forgery, theft over $5,000 and trafficking property obtained by crime. Three additional charges were withdrawn. 

At the Ottawa Courthouse on Monday, Wood was sentenced to two years less a day in custody. He was then placed in handcuffs and taken into custody. 

The celebrated photographer Yousuf Karsh, a longtime resident of the Château Laurier, gave the portrait to the hotel in 1998. It has now been returned to the hotel following its disappearance, and the international hunt that followed.

Justice Robert Wadden told Wood he was guilty of stealing a “cultural and historical” portrait that was a “point of national pride” — a crime committed “only for money,” Wadden said.

Before stealing the portrait, Wood had reached out to Sotheby’s auction house about selling a print of The Roaring Lion from the Karsh estate. He also posted on social media about his plans to leave Canada, and days before the theft he placed a two-minute phone call to the hotel.

The framed portrait had been affixed to a wall with special bolts that required specific knowledge and unique tools to unfasten.

The crime went unnoticed until the following August when a hotel staff member saw something amiss with the replacement portrait. 

The theft made international headlines and launched an Ottawa police investigation spanning several countries and two continents.

Investigators eventually determined that a man in Genoa, Italy, had purchased the portrait through a London auction house.

The buyer had no idea he had acquired a cherished piece of Canadian history — let alone a stolen one — and when contacted by police, he quickly agreed to return it.

In his decision, the judge noted the portrait had been damaged as a result of the theft.

Hotel happy to have portrait back

Genevieve Dumas, the Château Laurier’s general manager who attended several of Wood’s court appearances, said the portrait “means a lot more than just a print that’s available anywhere else.” 

“We’re happy to see that Canadian history is recognized,” she said. “So I’m very happy.” 

Shortly after Wood was taken into custody, his lawyer told reporters the decision was “unnecessarily harsh” and would be appealed. 

Wood’s defence had argued the sentence should be served in the community because the theft amounted to a property crime. They also argued Wood is a first-time offender who pleaded guilty.  

His lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said Wood had been prepared for any decision coming his way. 

“He wasn’t surprised by what had occurred,” Greenspon said Monday.