Signed Copy of Iconic Einstein ‘Tongue’ Portrait Sells for Record-Setting $338,630
One of the only nine signed prints of Albert Einstein’s iconic “Tongue” portraits recently sold at auction for $338,630.
Boston-based RR Auction is a respected source for rare manuscripts, autographs, and historic artifacts. The company, founded in 1976, has become known for its record-setting auctions of unique treasures. Over the years PetaPixel has reported on RR Auction’s interesting photography finds such as: “First Camera in Space Goes for 3X the Expected Price at Auction, Fetches Over a Quarter Million,” “First Telephoto Lens Used on the Moon Up for Auction, Lunar Dust Included,” “One of Three Academy Awards Ever Given for Still Photography,” as well as just last year the auction of the “Rare Signed Polaroid of a Young Steve Jobs Sells for $12,500.”
The signed Albert Einstein photograph was originally estimated to go for over $40,000. As such an iconic image and subject, it sold for $338,630 instead.
The photograph of Einstein that went to auction depicts a special moment. As RR Auctions shares in the listing, this image was created by United Press International photographer Arthur Sasse on March 14, 1951, which happened to be Albert Einstein’s 72nd birthday.
“After a birthday celebration at the Princeton Club, Einstein was mobbed by photographers and reporters as he made his way into a friend’s car to go return home. Sasse held back until he could get closer, then yelled to get his attention, ‘Ya, Professor, shmile for your birthday picture, ya?’ Tired of smiling for the cameras all day long, Einstein turned around and stuck out his tongue. Luckily, Sasse was quick enough to capture the moment and create what became one of the most well-known photographs of the 20th century.”
Upon seeing the image in the newspaper, Einstein wrote to International News Photos and requested nine cropped prints to show his face that he could give to friends. They obliged with nine glossy five-by-seven-inch prints, and it is one of those nine pictures that made it to the RR Auction. Signed by Einstein himself, the German inscription, referring to his tongue out, reads, “This gesture applies only to the rest of the world. Yours, A. Einstein 51.” It has been authenticated and, for protection, encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
The provenance of the print just sold at auction is well-documented and interesting. Its original owner was Otto Nathan, who became friends with Einstein while serving as faculty at Princeton University. The duo were so close that Nathan served as the sole executor of Einstein’s estate upon the scientist’s death. He is also a co-trustee of Einstein’s literary estate along with Helen Dukas. Nathan and Dukas spent 25 years organizing Einstein’s papers, with their eventual publication in 1971 by Princeton University Press.
In a curious gesture, Otto Nathan gave the photo of Einstein to his friend and Einstein enthusiast Margaret Sanders Adams. With a familiar name, Margaret Sanders Adams was the eldest daughter of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders.
As RR Auction shares, “Sculptor, thinker, and KFC ‘To-Go’ innovator Margaret Sanders Adams held a longstanding fascination Albert Einstein and his work, sparked by an interest in the correlation of science and religion. As she wrote to Einstein on December 17, 1953: “Dr. Einstein, because of intuition and the inspiration of all your written works which I had devoured with a hungry mind, I set out from my home in Florida with twenty-five dollars in my purse to establish myself near the Library of Congress where I could get more of your works and hope that one day I might even meet you in person… I have sculpted a head of Mrs. J. Edgar Lillienfeld and learned that she and her husband, Dr. Lillienfeld, were personal friends of yours, and they have generously added to my storehouse of knowledge of you… Now, comes Dr. Otto Nathan into my experience, who saw me reading your books at the Library of Congress and made himself known to me. He has been so kind as to offer to bring my letter to you in person.”
Indeed, an accomplished sculptor, Margaret Sanders Adams, was tasked by Otto Nathan to create a bust of Einstein. However, before she could begin, disaster struck. In her memoir The Colonel’s Secret: Eleven Herbs and a Spicy Daughter, pages 186 to 239 describe her interest in Einstein’s work and what took place.
“I was awakened by a distressed call from Dr. Otto Nathan early on the morning of March 17, 1955. In a grief-stricken voice, he said simply, ‘Margaret, Dr. Einstein just died.’ My heart dropped to my feet. I tried to think of some words of condolence for my dear friend, who was so devastated by his loss. My own grief was compounded by the disappointment of missing my golden opportunity to meet Einstein in person, which I would have done had I only believed in myself and complied with Otto’s request to do a bust of him at the time he asked…
Although I had never sculpted from photographs, I decided I would give it a try for Otto’s sake since I had promised to do a head of Einstein for him. He had given me many pictures of Einstein and now was as good a time as any to accepted this as a new challenge!”
The print, as one of the set of photos gifted to Margaret Sanders Adams by Otto Nathan to create the famous bust, became a cherished family heirloom. The print descended through the family, and it eventually made its way to RR Auction. No stranger to other signed examples of this exact famous photograph, they offered one over a decade ago and it sold for $125,000 at auction. With only nine in existence, they have held two, which is surely an auctioneer’s dream.
Image credits: RR Auctions
