Slim AaronsTruman Capote at home in his Brooklyn Heights apartment, New York1958
1958
About the Item
- Creator:Slim Aarons (1916-2006, American)
- Creation Year:1958
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2912580062
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.
- Golden Hour: David HockneyBy David LaChapelleLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographerCategory
2010s Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Poolside Pairs: Lita Baron, Nelda Linsk, Helen Dzo Dzo at the Richard NeutBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYEstate Stamped StampedCategory
1970s Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Bahamas Speed WeekBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYEstate embossedCategory
1960s Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Famed racer Gordon C. MacKenzie, Franconia, New HampshireBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYEstate embossedCategory
1950s Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- After the Deluge: Statue, Los AngelesBy David LaChapelleLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographer on a label of authenticityCategory
Early 2000s Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Baron Gaëtan de Rosnay, Klosters, SwitzerlandBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYEstate embossedCategory
1980s Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Photograph The Endless Column IIBy Dan Er. GrigorescuLocated in Paris, FRRomanian photographer, Dan Er. Grigorescu managed to published over 30 books, many receiving awards in Germany and the United States, while living under the Romanian communist regime...Category
20th Century Naturalistic Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Photograph The Endless Column IBy Dan Er. GrigorescuLocated in Paris, FRRomanian photographer, Dan Er. Grigorescu managed to published over 30 books, many receiving awards in Germany and the United States, while living under the Romanian communist regime...Category
20th Century Naturalistic Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Photograph Mademoiselle PoganyBy Dan Er. GrigorescuLocated in Paris, FRRomanian photographer, Dan Er. Grigorescu managed to published over 30 books, many receiving awards in Germany and the United States, while living under the Romanian communist regime...Category
20th Century Modern Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- Eli Freiman, News, Photograph, c-print on Diasec, 100x155 cmBy Eli FreimanLocated in Jerusalem, ILEli Freiman News, 2020 Photograph, c-print on Diasec 150x100 cm ed. 6 Eli Freiman, born in Israel in 1960, is the son of renowned Jerusalem artist and sil...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Photography
MaterialsPlexiglass, Photographic Paper
- Eli Freiman, Birds, Photograph, c-print on Diasec, 100x155 cmBy Eli FreimanLocated in Jerusalem, ILEli Freiman Birds, 2020 Photograph, c-print on Diasec 100x155 cm ed. 6 Eli Freiman, born in Israel in 1960, is the son of renowned Jerusalem artist and si...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Photography
MaterialsPlexiglass, Photographic Paper
- Eli Freiman, Shalom Tower, Photograph, c-print on Diasec, 100x150 cmBy Eli FreimanLocated in Jerusalem, ILEli Freiman Shalom Tower, 2020 Photograph, c-print on Diasec 100x150 cm ed. 6 Eli Freiman, born in Israel in 1960, is the son of renowned Jerusalem artist...Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Photography
MaterialsPlexiglass, Photographic Paper
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.