Framed photograph of Albert Einstein with Hungarian-American journalist Bela Kornitzer

Albert Einstein and Hungarian-American journalist Bela Kornitzer, black and white photograph, framed

It is unknown why Hawking chose this parrticular photograph of Einstein with Kornitzer.

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 politicans, 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 of the sponsors of the scientific activities of Stephen and his academic department.

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