The man behind one of Canada’s most talked-about art heists — the theft of Winston Churchill’s famous “Roaring Lion” portrait — has lost his appeal and is now turning to the Supreme Court of Canada in a final bid for leniency.
Jeffrey Wood, who pleaded guilty to stealing the celebrated 1941 Yousuf Karsh photograph from Ottawa’s Fairmont Château Laurier, saw his sentence appeal dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal in a narrow two-to-one decision. Wood had been sentenced earlier this year to two years less a day in jail, a ruling he argued was too harsh given his lack of a prior criminal record and early guilty plea.
His lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, confirmed that Wood turned himself in Thursday morning as required but will seek bail pending his application to the Supreme Court. Greenspon said he intends to base the appeal on the dissenting judge’s opinion that a lighter sentence — such as house arrest — would have been more appropriate.
The theft captivated the nation after staff at the historic Château Laurier discovered in August 2022 that the world-renowned portrait hanging in the hotel’s reading room had been swapped with a near-perfect fake. The switch occurred sometime between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022.
The “Roaring Lion” portrait, taken by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh moments after Churchill’s wartime address to Canada’s Parliament in 1941, is considered one of the most iconic political images ever captured. Karsh lived and worked at the hotel for nearly two decades and had gifted the portrait — along with six others — to the Château in 1998.
Police traced the stolen print through an international investigation, eventually recovering it from a buyer in London, England, who had purchased it unknowingly at auction.
In its ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal said the sentencing judge properly considered both aggravating and mitigating factors, noting the theft targeted an artifact of “historical and cultural significance” and involved deliberate deception through forgery and trafficking.
While the judge found mitigating circumstances, including Wood’s clean record and admission of guilt, the court concluded that the seriousness of the crime warranted real jail time. The case now heads to Canada’s top court, where Wood hopes for one last chance to reduce his sentence.