Elvis’s Last Stand

"Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer" closes Sunday, January 23, 2011.

The National Portrait Gallery’s yearlong tribute to the king of rock and roll will conclude on January 23 as “Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer” closes and moves to its next venue, the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. However, as with all things Elvis, some noise will be made before the curtains are drawn.

The final event to commemorate the life of one of the world’s most recognized performers will be concert a featuring Elvis’s music from 1956, performed by Elvis tribute artist Scot Bruce. The show is written and narrated by Warren Perry, co-curator of the exhibition “Elvis at 21” and curator of last year’s One Life exhibition, “Echoes of Elvis.” Part of the Portrait Gallery’s Cultures in Motion Series, “Elvis Presley, Live in Concert” will be performed at the National Portrait Gallery’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium on Thursday, January 20, at 7:00 p.m.

“I guess if you have to wrap up a year of Elvis, a concert is the only way to do it, and this music—the early RCA sessions—is probably some of the best work Elvis ever produced. It is intense, well-crafted, and fundamental rock,” Perry said, adding, “It’s really the core of the Elvis canon.”

Both Elvis exhibitions were well received, and “Elvis at 21,” a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service show, will continue its life on the road, going from the Michener Museum to the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, this summer. “Elvis at 21” will also travel, to the Mobile Museum of Art in Alabama, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, and the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas.

“Elvis Presley, Live in Concert” is free, but seating is limited; for reservations, call 202-633-8520 or go to www.elvisat21.eventbrite.com.

To see an interview with Elvis photographer Al Wertheimer, visit our YouTube channel.