Churchill portrait thief sentenced to two years less a day in jail

OTTAWA — The Ontario man who pleaded guilty to stealing an iconic portrait of former British prime minister Winston Churchill said he committed the crime to find money to help his brother, who was experiencing mental health struggles, Justice Robert Wadden told the court during a sentencing hearing Monday.

Jeffrey Wood kept his composure in the courtroom as Wadden told him he was being sentenced to two years less a day in jail.

Wood admitted earlier this year that he stole the portrait from Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel and committed forgery.

Renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh snapped the celebrated portrait in 1941 in the Speaker’s office just after Churchill delivered a rousing wartime address to Canadian members of Parliament.

Karsh lived in the hotel, and operated a studio out of it, for almost two decades. He donated the Churchill portrait and six others to the hotel in 1998, when he moved out.

Police said the portrait was stolen from the hotel sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and Jan. 6, 2022, and replaced with a fake.

The swap was only discovered months later, in August, when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly.

The portrait was returned to the hotel after a lengthy international investigation determined it was bought at an auction in London by an Italian man who was not aware it was stolen.

During the sentencing hearing Monday, Wadden said Wood planned to use the money he received from selling the portrait to help his brother.

“But his brother died that spring before Mr. Wood received the proceeds from the sale,” Wadden said in his decision.

Wadden said it was tricky to determine just how long Wood should serve for the crime because there is a lack of case law on similar art thefts in Canada.

Instead of focusing on a few domestic cases mentioned by the Crown, Wadden said he took into account international cases presented to him to help decide on the best approach.

Wadden said that Wood had no previous criminal record and maintained employment throughout his adulthood. Still, Wood did not help police recover the portrait, and when it was finally brought back to Canada it was damaged, Wadden said.

The Italian buyer forfeited the portrait when he learned it was stolen. Had he not done so, Wadden said, a major artifact of Canadian history would be lost forever.

“The portrait is a reminder of the importance not just of Churchill, but of Karsh. It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame,” Wadden said. “There is an element of trust in our society that allows such properties to be displayed, to be enjoyed by all Canadians. To steal, damage and traffic in such property is to breach that trust.”

Wadden said that while he normally would have ordered a sentence of three years, he settled for two years less a day because Wood is clearly remorseful and pleaded guilty.

He also noted the five days of pre-sentence custody Wood served, along with more than a year he spent with strict bail conditions.

After Wadden finished reading the sentencing, Wood’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon could be heard telling his client to “hang in there.”

Speaking outside the courthouse after, Greenspon said he and Wood spoke extensively about the possibility of lengthy jail time, despite the fact that he pleaded guilty and is a first-time offender.

“It was an unnecessarily harsh sentence,” he said.

Greenspon sought a suspended sentence with probation, while the Crown asked for two years less a day. A sentence of less than two years means Wood will serve his time in a provincial jail. Any sentence of two years or more moves an offender into the federal prison system.

“It’s quite a disparity between what we were seeking and what the Crown was seeking,” Greenspon said. “He wasn’t surprised by what occurred because we had prepared him in advance for possibilities of what the sentence would be.”

When asked about the prospect of an appeal minutes after Greenspon spoke, Chateau Laurier general manager Geneviève Dumas simply said, “Good luck.”

“I think the case is solid,” she added.

“We got what we wanted — two years minus one day … So we’re very happy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press