Amazing vintage matte-finish 9.75 x 8 photo of Oppenheimer with fellow physicist Albert Einstein together at Princeton in 1947, signed and inscribed in the lower border in fountain pen, "To James Wiggins—Robert Oppenheimer.” Reverse bears a Life Magazine credit stamp. In very good to fine condition, with creasing, primarily to the corners. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder. Exceedingly rare, we know of no other signed photographs of Oppenheimer with Einstein—two of the towering names of 20th-century physics.
This image comes from a series taken at Princeton in 1947 by renowned photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life Magazine after J. Robert Oppenheimer was named as director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Though this exact image was not published in Life Magazine's piece on the Institute in the issue of December 29, 1947, a very similar one was, captioned: 'Einstein tells Oppenheimer about his newest attempts to explain matter in terms of space.'
Einstein's relationship with Oppenheimer has become the subject of renewed interest in light of its portrayal in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film: articles on the physicist icons and their collegial affiliation have recently appeared in Vanity Fair, GQ, Esquire, and other popular media outlets. After World War II, both lived and worked at Princeton—at the Institute for Advanced Study—where Oppenheimer served as director from 1947 to 1966.
Oppenheimer's relationship with Einstein is best described in American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin: 'He thought of Einstein as a living patron saint of physics, not a working scientist…Einstein harbored a similar ambivalence about Oppenheimer…But what he admired about Oppenheimer was the man, not his physics. Still, Einstein would never count Oppenheimer as one of his close friends, 'perhaps partly because our scientific opinions are fairly diametrically different.' Back in the 1930s, Oppie had once called Einstein 'completely cuckoo' for his stubborn refusal to accept quantum theory.'
However, their scientific differences of opinion did not preclude the two from enjoying each other's company. American Prometheus relates: 'Knowing Einstein’s love of classical music, and knowing that his radio could not receive New York broadcasts of concerts from Carnegie Hall, Oppenheimer arranged to have an antenna installed on the roof of Einstein’s modest home at 112 Mercer Street. This was done without Einstein’s knowledge—and then on his birthday, Robert showed up on his doorstep with a new radio and suggested that they listen to a scheduled concert. Einstein was delighted.'
