Elvis at 21

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







In 1956, RCA Records sent photographer Alfred Wertheimer to take pictures of a recently signed new artist, Elvis Presley. This was before his meteroic stardom, when he could still sit in a diner like anyone else. Wertheimer captured remarkably intimate moments of him, relaxed and uninhibited as he goes about his business.

An exhibition of those historic photos opens on January 8, 2010 (what would have been the King's 75th birthday), at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the National Portrait Gallery and the Govinda Gallery, and sponsored by The History Channel, the exhibit will travel the USA through 2012. A fine catalog, Elvis at 21, lavishly illustrated with 172 photos is available here.