Art News

Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer opens at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

RICHMOND, VA.- Fifty-six dramatic 1956 photographs of Elvis Presley on the brink of international superstardom – including intimate images taken in Richmond – are being shown in Elvis at 21 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The black-and-white photographs taken by Alfred Wertheimer show a baby-faced Elvis just as his career began but before he was a recognizable rock-and-roll icon. “You’ll see some extraordinary behind-the-scenes shots of Elvis just as his career was starting,” VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said. “The exhibition includes images taken here in June of 1956 of Elvis leaving Richmond’s train station, riding in a taxi, having breakfast at the Jefferson Hotel, eating – unrecognized – at the hotel’s lunch counter, waiting backstage and performing on-stage during two shows at the Mosque, stealing a steamy kiss in a Mosque