Karsh: master of portrait photography.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.

TO STEAL a second, an infintesimal fraction of time--that's the potential of all photographs," says Yousuf Karsh, the world's most renowned portrait photographer. "As I understand it, a portrait is supposed to portray the personality of the person being photographed. You hope that the viewer comes to know the person better. If the portrait has significance and depth, then it will make you feel as if you've known the person all his life.

"No matter how many years pass, I'm still working with the human face, and that hasn't changed. I photograph faces of great experience, of surgeons, of industrialists, those who are involved in humanity and have compassion. I focus my camera on the face and use light and shadow to give people an idea of why this particular person is so accomplished, or so sad, or so tragic. . . ."

The focus of a new book, Karsh American Legends (Little, Brown and Co.), and a traveling exhibition organized by the International Center of Photography, his work has been admired by generations. For the most part, my latest exhibition comprises portraits of distinguished Americans, most of whom I have photographed over the last two years."

Born in Mardin, Armenia, on Dec. 23, 1908, Karsh spent his childhood amidst the horrors of the Armenian massacres. His uncle, George Nakash, brought him to Canada in 1924. After attending school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, he was apprenticed for three years to the eminent Boston portraitist John H. Garo. In 1932, Karsh opened his own studio in Ottawa. Soon, members of the government, visiting statesmen, and other dignitaries came to him to be photographed. He achieved international fame when his celebrated shot of Winston Churchill, which was taken when the then-prime minister of Great Britain visited wartime Canada in 1941, appeared on the cover of Life and set in motion a lifetime of recording those personalities who have defined this century.

"The subject doesn't see the pictures before I pick them, so I'm always on the winning side of that argument," he states with an earnest and knowing smile. "I've published 14 books, and no one to date has ever disapproved of my selections. My approach is to be normal, not sensational. I have respect and a keen appreciation of people and all the hard work it took for them to get where they are.

"Sometimes, my subjects pick me, or, quite often, they are picked for me by different publications. During World War II, for instance, I photographed world figures who came to New York for Life magazine. I did some 60 personalities during that period.

"It is my practice to be thoroughly prepared before I photograph somebody. I'll research the person's background. I'll get to know someone who knows the person. This makes for a cordial and gracious first contact.

"I usually have one or two helpers. After we've gone around the property and picked a spot to photograph, my assistant will prepare the area, and at that point, I have additional time to visit with my subject. One of the great...