Alfred Wertheimer (1929-2014) was an American photographer known for his defining role in the development of rock and roll photography.

Born in 1929 in Coburg, Germany and seeking refuge from Nazi persecution, Wertheimer moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1936. His father worked as a butcher; his mother was a milliner. Wertheimer went on to graduate from Haaren High School in 1947 and Cooper Union’s School of Art in 1951, earning a degree in advertising design. While at Cooper Union, Wertheimer photographed for the school’s newspaper using a camera that was given to him by his older brother, Henry. Later, Wertheimer was made an official Army photographer after entering the service in 1952.

In 1956, RCA Records hired Wertheimer to photograph their newest talent, Elvis Presley. He spent a week with the 21-year-old musician on the brink of superstardom, taking around 3000 photographs. The resultant images exquisitely preserve Elvis at his most youthful and vibrant, and remain some of the most intimate moments ever captured of the legendary star, including the famous image of Elvis kissing a fan backstage.

Throughout his career Wertheimer would go on to photograph other luminaries and figures of note such as Nina Simone, Lena Horne, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Additionally, he spent time working in moving images as a cameraman for programs similar to Granada Television’s World in Action and Mike Wadleight’s film, Woodstock.

As a photographer with a keen eye and unparalleled ability to get close to his subjects, Alfred Wertheimer captured pivotal moments in the evolution of rock and roll—and was instrumental in defining the stylings of the future of rock and roll photograph. However, his body of work does not stop with Elvis; from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign trail to Vietnam training camps to Daddy Grace in Harlem, Wertheimer captured significant moments in American history that we will revisit for generations to come.

“You have all these experiences and they become part of the collective memory. It takes a while to realize that your perspective is an important ingredient.”
- A. Wertheimer