Lily Pons
View Similar Items
Slim AaronsLily Pons1957
1957
About the Item
- Creator:Slim Aarons (1916-2006, American)
- Creation Year:1957
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU326124402
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.
- Slim Aarons, Look No Shoes (Estate Edition)By Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYLook No Shoes, 1964 Chromogenic Lambda Print Estate edition of 150 1964: Mrs A Atwater Kent Jr dressed in a simple shift dress is crossing the road baref...Category
1960s Modern Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Joan Collins Relaxes - (Aarons Estate Edition)By Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYFilm star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Slim Aaron...Category
1950s Realist Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Slim Aarons, Look No Shoes (Estate Edition)By Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYLook No Shoes, 1964 Chromogenic Lambda Print Estate edition of 150 1964: Mrs A Atwater Kent Jr dressed in a simple shift dress is crossing the road barefoot in the rain. A Wonderful...Category
1960s Modern Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Slim Aarons 'Julie London' (Estate Edition)By Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NY1957: Singer Julie London enjoying breakfast in bed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. S...Category
1950s Modern Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Slim Aarons, Apres Ski, Gstaad (Estate Edition)By Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYApres Ski 1963 (printed later) Chromogenic Lambda Print Estate edition of 150 A group of women reclining on the snow in Gstaad with rugs covering their knees, 1963. Estate stamped ...Category
1960s Modern Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Slim Aarons 'Beauty and the Beast'By Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYLady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a tiger skin rug in the trophy room at socialite Laddie Sanford's home in Palm Beach, Florida. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition o...Category
1950s Realist Portrait Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Schwester Janine Nurse Photography on Dibond with Perspex UV Resistant FrontBy Billy & HellsLocated in Utrecht, NLSchwester Janine Nurse Photography on Dibond with Perspex UV Resistant Front Billy und Hells are two photographers: Anke Linz (Nürnberg, 1965) and An...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Masha Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex UV Resistant Front PortraitBy Billy & HellsLocated in Utrecht, NLMasha Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex UV Resistant Front Portrait Billy und Hells are two photographers: Anke Linz (Nürnberg, 1965) and Andr...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Sophia 3 Portrait Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV ResistantBy Billy & HellsLocated in Utrecht, NLSophia 3 Portrait Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV Resistant Billy und Hells are two photographers: Anke Linz (Nürnberg, 1965) and Andreas Oettinger (Munich, 1963)....Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Brian Portrait Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV ResistantBy Billy & HellsLocated in Utrecht, NLBrian Portrait Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV Resistant Billy und Hells are two photographers: Anke Linz (Nürnberg, 1965) and Andreas Oettinger (Munich, 1963). Th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Eve Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV Resistant In StockBy Billy & HellsLocated in Utrecht, NLEve Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV Resistant In Stock Billy und Hells are two photographers: Anke Linz (Nürnberg, 1965) and Andreas Oettinger (Munich, 1963). They...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsLambda
- Mira Portrait Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV ResistantBy Billy & HellsLocated in Utrecht, NLMira Portrait Color Photography on Dibond with Perspex Front UV Resistant Billy und Hells are two photographers: Anke Linz (Nürnberg, 1965) and Andreas Oettinger (Munich, 1963). The...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsLambda