Václav Havel - Edice 17x17

First Meeting “Straight On”, Prague, December 29, 1989

Although I had photographed Václav Havel almost a week before his election as President of Czechoslovakia, it had always been among many people—at the Civic Forum headquarters—where I was, in a way, anonymous. Early in the morning, on the day of the presidential election, I entered the building on what was then Engels Embankment and rang the bell of the apartment with the nameplate “Havel.”

The flat was buzzing with activity; I didn’t know most of the people around him at all. Still a “non-president,” Václav Havel sat in his study, going over his inaugural speech. I felt immense respect for him and was very nervous, yet I tried to capture the unique atmosphere of the moment. Fortunately, he didn’t notice me at all.

— Tomki Němec

Departure, Cabo da Roca, Portugal, December 14, 1990

Perhaps only two minutes—maybe even less—separated the making of this photograph, taken on the same beach at the westernmost point of Europe, from the moment when Václav Havel reached the sea and was surprised by a breaking wave.

From time to time it happens that I press the camera shutter and my heart starts pounding, because I know that it’s there. When I photographed the president walking away, leaving his footprints in the sand, from the very first instant I pressed the shutter I wished for the impossible—that the moment when symbolism would turn into reality would never come.

With Václav Havel’s departure “up there,” this photograph has quite possibly become my best-known image.

Václav Havel — Departure, Cabo da Roca, Portugal, December 14, 1990

The Wave, Cabo da Roca, Portugal, December 14, 1990

The Atlantic is cold and treacherous in December. During an official visit to Portugal, local hosts took Václav Havel to the westernmost point of Europe. He set off on foot along the beach toward the sea and misjudged an incoming wave. That is how one of my most famous photographs came to be—“the president surprised by the sea.” I soaked my shoes too.

#004_The Wave, Cabo da Roca, Portugal, December 14, 1990

— Tomki Němec

Breakfast at Home, Rašín Embankment, Prague, July 5, 1990

In pajamas, sunlight pouring through the windows, a sense of calm. As if nothing special were happening—an impression of a lazy Sunday morning…

In a moment he will finish his tea, put on a suit, and head to Prague Castle, where, in Vladislav Hall, the former dissident Václav Havel will once again be elected President of Czechoslovakia.

— Tomki Němec

The Tough Guy. Lány, Spring 1990

The caption in my book Havel reads: “In a fast official BMW, with personal bodyguards trailing behind.” That’s exactly how it was. Václav Havel, who always loved driving, found himself in a stalemate the moment he became president. This joy—like many others—was taken away from him. He did manage to negotiate one thing: he would always sit in the front passenger seat next to the driver (which made the security service “sweat”), but he was no longer allowed to drive himself.

In the spring in Lány, he managed to get behind the wheel to test just how fast that BMW could go. I was sitting in the back, and it was the first time in my life I ever came close to a speed of 200 km/h…

— Tomki Němec

Heroes of My Life. Havel and Jirous, Trutnov, August 23, 2008

Václav Havel and Ivan Martin Jirous.
Citizen Havel and citizen Jirous. Two seniors. Backstage at the Open Air Trutnov rock festival, also known as Trutnov Woodstock, which Václav Havel attended whenever he spent August at his cottage in Hrádeček.

For me, this is a symbolic meeting of two giants, united by a life lived without freedom. Both prisoners of conscience. Both persecuted by the Communists and their collaborators. Both passed away in the same year—2011.

#theynevergaveup
#013_Heroes of My Life, Trutnov, August 23, 2008

Tomki Němec

The Ruler. Slavkov Castle, October 28, 1990

This photograph was taken during a break in tense negotiations about the constitutional arrangement of the federation—one of many attempts to reach an agreement between the two republics on the future of the common state. The atmosphere was strained, and finding consensus among politicians was far from easy.

During the break, Václav Havel sat down in a small lounge reserved for the president and his entourage, settling into a “royal” armchair. Watched by his advisers, he laughed and declared that if he were a ruler, he wouldn’t fuss about it—he would simply issue a decree. And that would be that!

Anyone who ever came into contact with him knows that he loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor.

— Tomki Němec

A Visit in New York

Václav Havel always tried to make use of the few rare moments he could spare from the official presidential program to meet his friends and acquaintances. Whenever possible, he made a point of seeing the Formans. This time, it was in the warm, relaxed atmosphere of the Formans’ apartment overlooking Central Park. New York, ca. 1997.
#017_At Miloš Forman’s Home, New York, USA, ca. 1997

NOTICE – THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS AVAILABLE BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENT ONLY. PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY – DO NOT ORDER VIA THE E-SHOP!!!

— Tomki Němec

Miloš Forman with Martina Formanová and Jan Tříska with Karla Chadimová walk through the gardens of the White House on their way to a formal dinner hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush, held on the occasion of the state visit of President Václav Havel to the United States.

Washington, D.C., USA, 2002