PHOTOGRAPHYAnnie Leibovitz on
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking, as far as I’m
concerned, is timeless. Every now
and then he says something that’s
deeply profound. Like, for example,
that we should be looking at other
planets to live on since we’re
destroying this one. The fact that
there is someone who exists who
can say something with that kind
of power and meaning is very
compelling. I’d been wanting to
shoot him for some time, and I
asked if I could. We worked in his
house in Cambridge, England,
putting up a canvas in his living
room. A lot of people try to avoid
the chair when they take his
picture. But I didn’t want to avoid
the chair. I was interested in a
more objective, more clinical view
combined with his humanity.
This is what his life is. But he is
still very alert on top of it all. This
photograph said everything I
wanted to say about this mind.
This very vivid, connected mind
on top of this mountain, the body
and the chair.—As told to Alexandra GenovaAnnie Leibovitz: Portraits
2005–2016 (Phaidon), a new
collection of 150 portraits
of some of the world’s most
influential people, shot by
one of its most well-known
photographers, is available nowPHOTOGRAPH BY ANNIE LEIBOVITZ