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Between 1987 and 1998, the National Archives of Canada acquired the outstanding Yousuf Karsh Collection of over 300,000 negatives, photographic prints and transparencies, representing the creative oeuvre of his 60-year career. In addition, the collection contains business papers from Karsh's Ottawa studio, philatelic projects, art work, personal correspondence, scrapbooks, awards and honours, and recorded interviews. The Yousuf Karsh Collection not only offers researchers a comprehensive view of the life and work of an internationally celebrated Canadian photographer, it also speaks to the long-standing special role of the National Archives in preserving major cultural archives and portraiture of national significance for all Canadians.
Most of the collection is housed at the Gatineau Preservation Centre, a state-of-the-art facility, with fragile early negative materials placed in cool off-site storage. All items are carefully arranged and optimally stored in customized acid-free archival containers, and the work of digitizing them for preservation and future reference purposes has begun. Karsh's cameras and studio equipment are preserved by the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
Works from the Karsh Collection have frequently been loaned for exhibition nationally and internationally, and are available for consultation and research at the Archives and online via the Web site. It is anticipated that the Portrait Gallery of Canada will regularly exhibit selections from these outstanding works in its new facility at 100 Wellington Street, Ottawa.
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