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Rare images from Bruce Springsteen’s rise to superstardom will go on display in Mount Vernon during a three-day exhibition timed to coincide with his Washington, D.C., concert at Nationals Park.
“Greetings From Alexandria, Va.” will run Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10, at Nepenthe Gallery. The exhibition will feature fine art photography, rare posters and autographed memorabilia celebrating Springsteen’s enduring legacy.
At the heart of the show are photographs by the late Phil Ceccola, who began documenting Springsteen during performances at The Main Point near Philadelphia in 1973. His intimate images trace the singer’s “bearded years” and mid-1970s evolution from a young performer into a major rock star.
Ceccola also wrote a 2002 book about Springsteen and his emergence as a blue-collar hero during the “Born to Run” era. One of Ceccola’s photographs was selected by Springsteen for the cover of the album “Tracks.”
After Ceccola died from brain cancer in 2003, his brother, Russ Ceccola, began tracking down the surviving photographs to fulfill Phil’s wishes. Many images had been destroyed in a flood, while those that remained lacked timestamps, forcing Russ to research when and where they were taken.
Among the recovered pictures is a circa-1974 photograph of Springsteen wearing mismatched shoes in Phil Ceccola’s Bridgeport apartment. Springsteen and his band had stayed there the night before a concert.
Russ Ceccola will appear at the gallery Friday and Saturday to share stories and details about the historic photographs.
The exhibition will also include work by other noted Springsteen photographers, including Alex Lowy’s image of Springsteen performing in front of Philadelphia City Hall. Another photograph features Springsteen with Jackson Browne and David Lindley.
Nepenthe Gallery has previously presented work connected to 1970s popular culture, including cartoons of the Beatles and Scooby-Doo by the late animator Ron Campbell, as well as a Norman Rockwell exhibition presented by Saturday Evening Post critic David Apatoff.