Photograph of Stephen Hawking with American President Bill Clinton

A framed photograph of Stephen Hawking with President Bill Clinton, previously on display in Hawking’s office at Cambridge University. The photograph shows President Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the right. Stephen Hawking is in the centre, with his second wife, Elaine Mason, kneeling to his left with her back to the camera. Behind Hawking on the right (orange tie) is Chris Burgoyne, his graduate assistant at the time.

This photograph was taken during Stephen Hawking's visit to the White House on March 5th, 1998, ahead of his lecture on March 6th (also at the White House) entitled “Imagination and Change – Science in the Next Millenium.” The photo was taken in the Red Room in the White House, a small parlour in the state rooms on the first floor. During the Clinton administration the Red Room was often used for small gatherings and dinner parties.

One of the most frequent items on the walls of Stephen Hawking's office are photographs of individuals, most often original prints. A good portion of these are individual portraits of his scientific heroes; he did not have individual photos of his closest mentors or collaborators, as those appear in several group photos taken during academic conferences. A few of the photos, whose selection may have been haphazard, point to the everyday fun of working with colleagues. Another subset of photographs, all dating after the 1987 publication of A Brief History of time, relate to Stephen's contact with celebrities and politicians, or media appearances. A few of the photographs relate to people with whom Stephen shared specific causes. Finally, also present in his office are photographs of some of Stephen and his academic department’s sponsors.

Stephen also had multiple photographs of his family, but these were not included in the office acquisition.