Einstein's 'tongue-out' photograph to be auctioned
A signed and dated copy of theoretical physicist Albert Einstein's famous photograph in which he is seen sticking his tongue out is set to be auctioned off. Photographer Arthur Sasse captured the photograph as Einstein departed in the back of car following his 72nd birthday celebrations in 1951. Notably, Einstein had requested for copies of the photograph.
Wild haired with a bushy moustache and his tongue sticking out, the photograph revealing Albert Einstein as something of a prankster is one of the most recognisable images of the physicist. Now a signed and dated copy is about to be auctioned.Snapped by United Press International photographer Arthur Sasse as Einstein departed in the back of car following his 72nd birthday celebrations in 1951, the image shot into the public consciousness after publishers overcame their initial qualms and printed the jovial image.Even the Nobel laureate himself was amused at the photo, requesting cropped copies which he then signed and gave to friends. But the current auctioneers note that the image that is set to go under the hammer on 27 July is unusual in also showing the companions who left the Princeton club with Einstein that night: Frank Aydelotte, director of the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, where Einstein worked, and Aydelotte?s wife, Marie Jeanette.If previous sales are a guide, the latest lot could scoop a sizeable sum: copies signed by the physicist have recently sold for almost $44,000, with a signed, cropped version of the photo bearing a handwritten German rhyme selling for $125,000.Einstein?s leather jacket sold for £110,000 last year, but a photograph may be a safer bet for Einstein aficionados: the jacket was dubbed ?rather pungent? by the auctioneers.