Slim AaronsPark Avenue Party, New York1952
1952
About the Item
- Creator:Slim Aarons (1916-2006, American)
- Creation Year:1952
- Dimensions:Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU29108852
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.
- The Master at Work: Noel Coward, JamaicaBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYThe Master at Work, circa 1953: Noel Coward working at 'Firefly', his home at Roundhill, Jamaica. Staley-Wise Gallery offers photographic prints from the ...Category
1950s Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Traditional Indian dance mask, NicaraguaBy Susan MeiselasLocated in New York, NYThis photograph is an edition of 3 and is signed by the photographer. Susan Meiselas was born in Maryland. After teaching photography at New York public schools, her photographs of women doing striptease at New England fairs were published in her first book, Carnival Strippers, in 1976. Meiselas joined Magnum Photos that same year and became particularly known for her documentation of human rights issues in Latin America. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1992 and received the Cornell Capa Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in 2005. Meiselas’ photograph of a Nicaraguan rebel concealing his identity with a traditional Monimbo Indian dance mask...Category
1970s Color Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Marilyn Monroe: From "The Last Sitting Ⓡ" (Crucifix II)By Bert SternLocated in New York, NYMarilyn Monroe: From the Last Sitting, 1962 (Crucifix II)Category
1960s Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- David Bailey and Veruschka, VOGUE, New York , 1964By Bert SternLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer Edition 10/30Category
1960s Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- David and Amanda, New YorkBy David LaChapelleLocated in New York, NYAmanda Lepore’s birth name was Armand Lepore. In the early 1980’s, three decades before transgender rights became a social issue, she began her devotion to the plastic surgery that would transform her in to a downtown New York icon and frequent muse to photographer David LaChapelle. Filmmaker Joel Schumacher has called Lepore a “moving sculpture...Category
Early 2000s Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Rebirth of VenusBy David LaChapelleLocated in New York, NYSandro Botticelli’s iconic painting The Birth of Venus (click here) was created in the late 15th century and depicts the mythological origin of the goddess Aphrodite (known also as Venus, the goddess of love and sex), who was born an adult woman from sea foam. Although this myth was very popular with artists beginning in the 16th century, Botticelli’s painting...Category
Early 2000s Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Miguel as Man, New York, NY, 2009By Kim ReiersonLocated in Hudson, NYEach year, Robin Rice celebrates a Salon style exhibition to showcase her gallery artists and invite new ones. With Robin’s extensive experience as a gallery curator, all Robin Rice...Category
Early 2000s Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Pillbox Profile, 1998By Patricia HealLocated in Hudson, NYListing is for FRAMED print. Edition 1 of 15. CURRENT EXHIBITION - runs through September 4th, 2016. Any framed photographs purchased during the show will be available after September 4th. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produced upon purchase. Please allow two weeks for production. Shipping time depends on method of shipping. Price is subject to availability. The Robin Rice Gallery reserves the right to adjust this price depending on the current edition of the photograph. ABOUT: Since the early ‘90s, gallerist Robin Rice and designer Antony Todd...Category
1990s Contemporary Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- "PeeWeet" by Popovy SistersBy Popovy SistersLocated in Culver City, CALimited Edition Fine Art photography by Popovy Sisters 1/7 Fine art print / fine art paper comes in a white frame with plexiglass Hand-signed by artist Work sold with a certificate of authenticity ABOUT POPOVY SISTERS: In the world of one-of-a-kind dolls (OOAKD), the name Popovy Sisters is writ large. Based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ekaterina and Elena Popovy meticulously handcraft hyperreal, posable dolls that combine elements of fantasy, fashion, and fetish. Among their collectors are the couturier Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton shoe designer Fabrizio Viti...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Popovy Sisters "Frida 1"By Popovy SistersLocated in Culver City, CALimited Edition Fine Art photography by Popovy Sisters 1/7 Fine art print / fine art paper comes in a white frame with plexiglass Hand-signed by artist Work sold with a certificate of authenticity ABOUT POPOVY SISTERS: In the world of one-of-a-kind dolls (OOAKD), the name Popovy Sisters is writ large. Based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ekaterina and Elena Popovy meticulously handcraft hyperreal, posable dolls that combine elements of fantasy, fashion, and fetish. Among their collectors are the couturier Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton shoe designer Fabrizio Viti...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print, Plexiglass
- Popovy Sisters "Cult 2" limited edition photographyBy Popovy SistersLocated in Culver City, CA"Cult 2" Limited Edition Fine Art photography by Popovy Sisters 1/7 Fine art print / fine art paper comes in a white frame with plexiglass Hand-signed by artist Work sold with a certificate of authenticity ABOUT POPOVY SISTERS: In the world of one-of-a-kind dolls (OOAKD), the name Popovy Sisters is writ large. Based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ekaterina and Elena Popovy meticulously handcraft hyperreal, posable dolls that combine elements of fantasy, fashion, and fetish. Among their collectors are the couturier Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton shoe designer Fabrizio Viti...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Popovy Sisters "JPG1"By Popovy SistersLocated in Culver City, CALimited Edition Fine Art photography by Popovy Sisters Photo of exclusive one of a kind doll of Jean Paul Gaultier 1/7 Fine art print on fine art pape...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
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.