Dining Al Fresco On Capri
1980s Realist Landscape Photography
Lambda
1980s Realist Landscape Photography
Lambda
1980s Realist Landscape Photography
Lambda
1980s Realist Landscape Photography
Lambda
1980s Modern Color Photography
Color
Slim Aarons'Dining Al Fresco On Capri' 1980 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition, 1980 (Printed Later)
1980s Modern Figurative Photography
C Print
20th Century Modern Portrait Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
1970s Modern Color Photography
Color
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
Giclée, Archival Pigment, Photographic Paper, Archival Paper
Late 20th Century Photorealist Black and White Photography
Silver Gelatin
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Ink, Giclée, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment, Photographic Paper
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
1950s Modern Color Photography
C Print
1960s Modern Color Photography
C Print, Color
1950s Modern Color Photography
C Print
1980s Modern Color Photography
C Print
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1970s American Modern Nude Photography
Silver Gelatin
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Benches
Fabric, Wood
2010s Contemporary Color Photography
Archival Pigment
Mid-20th Century American Industrial Cabinets
Aluminum, Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1940s American Machine Age Floor Lamps
Iron, Aluminum
Recent Sales
1980s Realist Landscape Photography
Lambda
1980s Realist Landscape Photography
Lambda
1980s Modern Figurative Photography
C Print
1980s Modern Figurative Photography
C Print
Slim Aarons for sale on 1stDibs
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.
Finding the Right figurative-photography for You
Life becomes art in figurative photography. Shared moments are captured and history is recorded in images of people and their lives.
Figurative photography is often used to describe a kind of photography in which people are the subject. Early black and white photography of people can be a glimpse into a past century — witness the celebrated work of photographers such as Ansel Adams or lesser-known artists like Berenice Abbott, for example. The cultural and social standards of the time are captured in these figurative photographs.
Mid-century photos might show the life and fashions of the day, sometimes with the shared thread of humanity, joy and love. Indeed, figurative photographs can be a source of inspiration and wonder, speaking of common life experiences and beauty. Vintage photos of celebrities and iconic actors can be valuable keepsakes as snapshots of a bygone era.
Just as if you were bringing paintings, prints or drawings into your space as part of the decor, there are many ways to arrange your figurative photography. Large photos can be statement pieces in a room. Smaller photographs can be placed on bookcases or on compact wall spaces to add an artistic element to a living room or a bedroom.
Find a collection of figurative photography on 1stDibs today.