Elvis at 21

Alfred Wertheimer "The Kiss" (detail)

DEC 24, 2011 – MAR 18, 2012


Forty dramatic black-and-white photographs taken by Alfred Wertheimer in 1956. The photographs feature Elvis Presley on the brink of international superstardom — including intimate images taken in Richmond. RCA Victor contracted Wertheimer to shoot promotional images of Elvis, who had just been signed to record for the label. Wertheimer was given total access to Elvis on the road, backstage, in concert, in the recording studio and at home in Memphis.

"Henri Cartier-Bresson was known for photographing what he called the 'decisive moment,' that moment when everything falls into place," says Wertheimer. "But I was more interested in the moments before or after the decisive moment."

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