Slim AaronsKings of Hollywood1957
1957
About the Item
- Creator:Slim Aarons (1916-2006, American)
- Creation Year:1957
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: G1108312988
Slim Aarons
American photographer Slim Aarons captured the 20th century’s international jet set — U.S. socialites, European royalty, Hollywood stars — at play in sun-kissed locales like Monaco, Saint-Tropez and Palm Beach, as well as other luxurious settings around the globe.
Committed to eschewing makeup and artificial lighting, Aarons created images that are at once candid and polished, combining the relaxed posture of his subjects, who trusted him to document their lives, with the visual sharpness of a seasoned art director. Having gotten his start taking pictures for the U.S. military magazine Yank during World War II, he contributed over the course of his career to Life, Town and Country and Holiday magazines and published several books.
Aarons was born in Manhattan in 1916. He joined the army at 18, shooting military maneuvers at West Point before serving as a combat photographer, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. After the war, he moved to California and began snapping socialites and movie stars. In the 1950s, he opened a bureau for Life magazine in Rome, where he took pictures capturing the postwar scene. Aarons was always able to win the trust of his elite subjects, who saw him as close to a peer, rather than a paparazzo. In a 2002 interview with The Independent, he remarked, ''I knew everyone. They would invite me to one of their parties because they knew I wouldn't hurt them. I was one of them.'' This access allowed Aarons to document the rich and famous with their guard down, reading newspapers and magazines, talking on the phone, relaxing by the pool, and chatting with friends. The 1957 photograph The Kings of Hollywood, for example, which won him wide acclaim, shows Clark Gable, Van Heflin, Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart laughing together as they celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Many of Aarons’s best-known images involve games and sports. In the 1972 Poolside Backgammon, two young women play the board game of the title against the backdrop of a majestic Acapulco estate. In 1958’s Cannes Watersports, a couple attempts to glide across the Golfe de la Napoule on Jet Skis, one expertly and one hanging on for dear life. And in Penthouse Pool, shot in Athens in 1961, a young woman wearing a yellow bathing cap smiles coyly at the camera, surrounded by friends and brightly colored seat cushions, with the Acropolis faintly visible in the background. Among Aarons’s books are 1974’s A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life, and its 2003 sequel, Once Upon a Time. His final book, A Place in the Sun, was published in 2005, one year before his death.
Find a collection of vintage Slim Aarons photography on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Giselle Karina Bacallao Moreno and Rachel Valdes going for a spin on the MaleconBy Michael DweckLocated in New York, NYGiselle Karina Bacallao Moreno and Rachel Valdes going for a spin on the Malecon, Habana, Cuba, 2009 All editions signed by the photographer.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Sita 2, BaliBy Isabella GinanneschiLocated in New York, NYThis photograph is an Edition of 30. All editions are signed by the photographer. Larger sizes may be available upon request.Category
Early 2000s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Natalie, HammametBy Louise Dahl-WolfeLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer. Louise Dahl-Wolfe was born in California. After her first photograph published appeared in Vanity Fair in 1933, she moved to New York and opened her photography studio. Her early documentary portraits of rural America gave way to an established career as a staff fashion photographer for Harper’s Bazaar. Dahl-Wolfe was at the forefront of early color fashion photography...Category
1950s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Hot Dog Stand: Trish Goff, Los Angeles, VOGUEBy Pamela HansonLocated in New York, NYThis photograph is an Edition of 25. All editions are signed by the photographer. Larger sizes may be available upon request.Category
1990s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Sita Double 2, BaliBy Isabella GinanneschiLocated in New York, NYThis photograph is an Edition of 30. All editions are signed by the photographer. Larger sizes may be available upon request.Category
Early 2000s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Club TropicanaBy Michael DweckLocated in New York, NYHavana, Cuba. All editions signed by the photographer.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
- Untitled from "On The Acropolis"Located in New York, NYListing includes free shipping in the US and a 14-day return policy. All prints are made to order and will arrive in mint condition directly from Tod Papageorge...Category
1980s Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
- Untitled from "On The Acropolis"Located in New York, NYListing includes free shipping in the US and a 14-day return policy. All prints are made to order and will arrive in mint condition directly from Tod Papageorge's New York Printer. Tod Papageorge Untitled from "On The Acropolis" 1983 - 1984. Printed in 2021 20 x 24 inch archival pigment print Edition of 9, Signed. Artist Biography - One of the most notable photographers of our time, Papageorge is known for both the originality and quality of his work as well as his influence on the generation of students he mentored while the Director of the Yale MFA...Category
1980s Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
- Untitled from "On The Acropolis"Located in New York, NYListing includes free shipping in the US and a 14-day return policy. All prints are made to order and will arrive in mint condition directly from Tod Papageorge...Category
1980s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Untitled from "On The Acropolis"Located in New York, NYListing includes free shipping in the US and a 14-day return policy. All prints are made to order and will arrive in mint condition directly from Tod Papageorge...Category
1980s Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
- Untitled from "On The Acropolis"Located in New York, NYListing includes free shipping in the US and a 14-day return policy. All prints are made to order and will arrive in mint condition directly from Tod Papageorge...Category
1980s Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin, Photographic Paper
- Lovers 3By Ormond GigliLocated in Lenox, MAOrmond Gigli Lovers 3 Gelatin Silver Print Printed by the artist 17.5" x 20.5" Unique: $2500 Provenance: Printed by the artist, from the artist's studio Signature: Signed en verso A...Category
Mid-20th Century Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Who Are the Most Popular Artists on 1stdibs?
Learn the stories of some of the world's most recognizable artworks and their makers.
Kali Is an Art World Sensation, 40 Years after She Hid Her Work Away
A newly discovered trove of her kaleidoscopic works reveals that the enigmatic artist captured the zeitgeist of 1960s Southern California.