Sold For $2,440
*Includes Buyers Premium
Original vintage glossy 10 x 8 silver gelatin photograph of Albert Einstein seated with the faculty and graduate students of the physics department at the California Institute of Technology, an image taken on the occasion of Einstein's visit to Pasadena in 1931. Of considerable interest is the presence of theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who is pictured front row to the far left. Pictured in the front row (left to right): Oppenheimer, Harry Bateman, R. D. Tolman, William V. Houston, Robert A. Millikan, Einstein, Paul Epstein, Fritz Zwicky, and Earnest Watson. In fine condition, with tack impression to the bottom edge. Accompanied by its original Hartsook photography studio folder. Encapsulated by PSA as an authentic 'Type I' photograph.
Einstein served as a researcher and visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology for three winter terms in 1931, 1932, and 1933; it was during Einstein’s first trip to the school that he was formally introduced to Oppenheimer. Following Hitler's rise to power in January 1933, Einstein was forced to cut all ties with his homeland of Germany. He decided to settle permanently in the United States and took a position at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in late 1933. Einstein and Oppenheimer reconnected after World War II when the latter became director of IAS, serving in said capacity 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.'
