Portrait of Winston Churchill missing from famed Canadian hotel

Not their finest hour.

An iconic photograph of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill has disappeared from a luxury hotel in Canada and replaced with a fake.

The black-and-white photo, taken by photographer Yousuf Karsh in December 1941, shows Churchill leaning against a chair with his hand on his hip. It was taken shortly after Churchill addressed the Canadian Parliament about World War II.

It, along with other photos by Karsh, had been at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa since 1998.

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, stops by a portrait of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill by Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh during a tour of the National Archives Preservation Center in Ottawa, Canada, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2004. (CHARLES DHARAPAK/)

Karsh lived at the hotel and operated his studio there from 1972 to 1992, according to CTV News.

“We are deeply saddened by this brazen act,” Geneviève Dumas, the Chateau Laurier’s general manager, said in a statement. “The hotel is incredibly proud to house this stunning Karsh collection, which was securely installed in 1998.”

Hotel staff noticed over the weekend that the photo was not hanging properly and had a different frame than the other Karsh photos. It is unknown how long the photo has been missing.

“Upon further investigation, and a confirmation from the Estate of Yousuf Karsh, it was found that the Winston Churchill photograph was replaced with a copy of the original,” the hotel said in statement.

“As a precautionary measure, the remaining photographs located in the Reading Lounge have been removed until they can be secured properly.”

The hotel also has nine of the Armenian-born photographer’s portraits in its Karsh Suite.

In a separate statement, the Ottawa Police Service said it had opened an investigation into the missing photograph.