Ernest Withers, Elvis Presley, Backstage with Brook Benton, WDIA Goodwill Review, Memphis, TN, 1957, printed 2000, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Bill Chapman, 2019.9.2, 14 x 16 inches

Ernest Withers, L.C. Bates, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, 1960’s, printed in 2000, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Bill Chapman

We got a request on Instagram to show works by photographer, Ernest Withers, and we’re delivering!

Today, the O is highlighting Withers’ photographs, Elvis Presley, Backstage with Brook Benton, WDIA Goodwill Review, Memphis, TN and L.C. Bates, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, featured in our new exhibition, “Revelations Recent Photography Acquisitions!”

Withers was born on August 7, 1922, in Memphis, Tennessee. He got his start as a photographer during WWII. After the war, he returned to Memphis, where he opened up a commercial photography studio. Withers documented key moments during the civil rights movement, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the strike of Memphis sanitation workers.

Withers also photographed famous musicians like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin (pictured), B.B. King, Elvis Presley (pictured) and Ike and Tina Turner.

Let us know which of our Southern artists you would like to see from the O’s exhibitions and permanent collection!