Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer Smithsonian & Govinda Gallery Tour Concludes

March 10th was the last day for the Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia. It is also the conclusion of the extraordinary fourteen city museum tour organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Govinda Gallery. The exhibition was launched at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in January of 2010. CBS Sunday Morning produced a feature story on Wertheimer’s exhibition at the Grammy Museum. The highlight at the Grammy Museum show for me was taking Priscilla Presley on a tour of the exhibition. The exhibition’s run in Washington, DC at the National Portrait Gallery that ended in January of 2014 was a sensational installation and was especially sweet for me as Amy Henderson and E. Warren Perry, Jr. from the National Portrait Gallery curated the exhibition with me.

My thanks go to Alfred Wertheimer and his photographs of Elvis Presley in 1956. They are a national treasure. A finer person you could not meet than Alfred Wertheimer. A very special thank you to Marquette Folley and everyone at SITES. Marquette’s vision and dynamic energy was an inspiration. Lena Tabori from Welcome Books published a beautifully designed and printed catalogue for the exhibition. I am so grateful to have worked with her. My appreciation to the History Channel who supported the exhibition and its tour. I want to gratefully acknowledge all of the museums that hosted the exhibition and the directors, curators, and the staff at those museums. My appreciations to everyone at Govinda Gallery who assisted with this project. A very special thanks to David Adamson and his team at Adamson Editions. I remain grateful to Peter Guralnick, Priscilla Presley, Michael Meyer, Bob Santelli, Bob Colacello, ‘Boss’, Carlotta, Vivienne, and Milciades Buritica, and to everyone who enjoyed this exhibition of Alfred Wertheimer’s photographs of Elvis. Thank you.

Left: Govinda Gallery Director Chris Murray, The Honorable Nancy Pelosi and Photographer Alfred Wertheimer. Right: Marquette Folley and Chris Murray. At the Govinda Gallery Halcyon House party celebrating the launch of Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, 2010. Copyright © Vivienne Foster. All Rights Reserved.

Tour Dates and Locations »

Jan 8 – Mar 28, 2010 The Grammy Museum :: Los Angeles, CA
Apr 20 – Jun 20, 2010 Boca Raton Museum of Art :: Boca Raton, FL
Jul 10 – Oct 10, 2010 Museum of the Shenandoah Valley :: Winchester, VA
Oct 30, 2010 – Jan 23, 2011 National Portrait Gallery :: Washington, DC
Feb 19 – May 15, 2011 James A. Michener Art Museum :: Doylestown, PA
June 4 – Aug 21, 2011 The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum :: Little Rock, AR
Sep 10 – Dec 4, 2011 Mobile Museum of Fine Arts :: Mobile, AL
Dec 24 – March 18, 2012 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts :: Richmond, VA
April 7 – July 1, 2012 Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum :: Abilene, KS
July 21 – Oct 14, 2012 Memphis Pink Palace Museum :: Nashville, TN
Nov 2 – Feb 3, 2013 Tennessee State Museum :: Nashville, TN
Feb 23 – March 27, 2013 The Schumacher Gallery, Capital University :: Columbus, OH

May 18 – Sept 2, 2013 The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History :: Forth Worth, TX

Dec 7 – Mar 10, 2014 The National Portrait Gallery :: Canberra, Australia