Karsh portrait donated to Maplesoft Centre

An original Yousuf Karsh portrait of Helen Keller and her companion Polly Thompson will now have a home at the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation's new Maplesoft Centre where it is hoped it will inspire cancer survivors.

In a ceremony Friday at the Maplesoft Centre on Alta Vista Drive, Karsh's widow Estrellita donated the portrait of Keller and Thompson that was taken in 1948 at the New York City apartment of legendary American stage actress Katharine Cornell.
The stark black-and-white photograph, from the estate of Karsh, is one of many classic photographs taken by the photographer who, at one time, made Ottawa his home. He died July 13, 2002 at age 93.
"Helen Keller was a survivor. She survived illness, at the age of three, the illness left her blind, it left her deaf but it did not leave her dumb. She spoke out loud and clear for the rest of her life," said Estrellita Karsh at a reception at the official unveiling of the portrait.
"She was not dumb, she was smart, she earned a PhD from Radcliffe, and for the rest of her life she tried to help humanity," she said. Estrellita Karsh said Keller and Thompson had a "symbiotic relationship," adding that when one person spoke the other listened until they were able to communicate with each other.
"My husband was also a survivor of a terrible time long ago and he emerged to form a relationship with this woman whom he considered the most sublime woman he had ever met. We are all survivors of something in our lives and this Maplesoft Centre will help people surviving from cancer. We are all on the journey together whether we have cancer, live with it, abet it, or comfort it," she said.
Maplesoft Centre is expected to open this fall and is intended to be a resource centre for cancer survivors and their families, with a number of day and evening programs.
"I hope people come here and find solace and love. I'm happy, and I know Yousuf would have been so happy to have this photograph here. It means so much to him and it means so much to me. I hope through the years it will mean so much to all of you," she said.
The framed photograph of Keller and Thompson is on the main floor of the 11,000-square-foot facility.
Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation president and CEO Linda Eagen said she was thankful to receive the photograph, which will be one of the focal points of the new facility.
"There is more to journeying through cancer than attacking the tumour. We are whole people, we have needs, and this centre is going to address those needs," said Eagen, adding that the centre is possible because of the inspiration of many people in the community.
Estrellita Karsh personally picked the frame of the Keller-Thompson photo, which came from Framed, a retail store on Bank Street.
"The frame is a lovely shape, a lovely colour and contrasts with the photograph, It has a lot of texture and it just frames it beautifully," she said.
In his long and distinguished career, Yousuf Karsh had more than 15,300 sittings and produced more than 150,000 negatives. His widow said the Keller-Thompson photo remained one of his favourites.
"I know that he would have been so happy that this photograph, taken in 1948, is now speaking to people in the 21st-century and hopefully will continue to speak to people," she said.