Alfred Wertheimer, author of “Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll,” died at age 85 at his New York apartment.

LOS ANGELES — Alfred Wertheimer, the photographer whose portraits of Elvis Presley documented the birth of a music legend, has died.

Wertheimer, who was 85, died of natural causes at his New York apartment, said Chris Murray, who owns Washington, D.C's Govinda Gallery which counts Wertheimer among its artists.

Wertheimer was 26 when he was assigned to photograph the unknown 21-year-old singer. He traveled with Elvis from New York to Memphis by train and produced a series of now famous black and white portraits that were the subject of exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and the Grammy Museum.

“There has been no other photographer that Elvis ever allowed to get as up close and personal in his life through photos as he did with Alfred,” Priscilla Presley said Tuesday. “I'm deeply saddened by the death of Alfred Wertheimer. He was a dear friend and special soul. I feel he was a gift for all who knew him especially, Elvis Presley.”

Among the most famous shots: “The Kiss,” a photo of Elvis nuzzling a woman fan backstage, photographs of Elvis recording “Hound Dog” and “Don't Be Cruel,” reading fan mail, eating alone, staring out a train window, playing a piano in an empty studio and walking by himself on a deserted New York street.

Murray, who first exhibited the photographs at Washington, D.C.'s Govinda Gallery where the photos are still shown, curated an exhibit of his photos for the Smithsonian Institution and edited several books of the photos.

His work has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the world. Wertheimer's photos are about to be exhibited at The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow, his first Russian exhibit.