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, Aarons opened a bureau for Life magazine in Rome, where he took pictures capturing the postwar scene. He 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, Aarons 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 him 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.
Sunbathing in Venice, 1954 - Venetian Nude Sunbathing in Vintage Italian Fashion
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Sunbathing in Venice, 1954 - Venetian Sunbathing in Vintage Italian Fashion by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. A...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Sunbathing in Capri, 1974 - Sunbathers on French Island of Capri Summer Bronzing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Sunbathing in Capri, 1974 - Sunbathers on French Island of Capri Summer Bronzing by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Porto Ercole, 1973
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A jetty juts out from the rocky shoreline at the Hotel Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1973. Slim Aarons Porto Erocole, 1973 C print Estate stamped and numbered edit...
C Print
$1,440Sale Price|20% Off
Dining In Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers at a ski lodge at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961. This is an estate stam...
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Westin Excelsior, Lido in Venice, 1957 - Venetian Gondolas in Canals in Italy
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Westin Excelsior, Lido in Venice, 1957 - Venetian Gondolas in Canals in Italy by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. We...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Speedboat Landing Slim Aarons Limited Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Speedboat Landing A Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of the Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, Italy, August 1973. Gorgeous print ...
Color, Archival Pigment
Snowmass Village, Colorado, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features women in colourful hats at an apres ski party in Snowmass Village, in Pitkin County, Colorado, in M...
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$1,800
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features people snowboarding in Cortina d'Ampezzo. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of 15...
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Cortina d'Ampezzo Fashion
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Isa Genolini and Maria Antonia in the main street of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, March 1982. Cortina d'Ampezzo Fashion 1972 c print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 wi...
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$1,800
Conca dei Marini, Italy, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1980s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a busy bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, August 1984. This is an est...
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Lunch at La Pigna, 1980 - Italian Sicilian Portrait Lemon Trees on Capri
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Lunch at La Pigna, 1980 - Italian Sicilian Portrait Lemon Trees on Capri by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Lunch a...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Beach at St. Tropez - Topless Sunbathing South of France French Riviera Beaches
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Beach at St. Tropez - Topless Sunbathing South of France French Riviera Beaches by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Sunbathing On Capri - Slim Aarons - 20th century colour photography Oversize
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Sunbathing On Capri' by Slim Aarons Huge Oversize 72 x 48 inches / 183 x 122 cm paper size Catherine Wilke joins the topless sunbathers - along with Elisabetta Catalano, Charlotte...
C Print
$1,440Sale Price|20% Off
Signpost In St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a signpost indicating various ski slopes and toboggan tracks in the resort of St Moritz,...
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Catherine Wilke, 1980 - Bronze Model Poses Drinking Cocktail by Sunbathers
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Catherine Wilke, 1980 - Bronze Model Poses Drinking Cocktail by Sunbathers by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Premium Collection Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Pr...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Sunbathing In Capri, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features sunbathers by a swimming pool at the Hotel Punta Tragara on the island of Capri, Italy, Au...
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Sunbathing Antibes, 1976 - Hotel du Cap Eden Roc French Riviera Nude
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Sunbathing Antibes, 1976 - Hotel du Cap Eden Roc French Riviera Nude by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Sunbathin...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Dining Al Fresco On Capri
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Dining Al Fresco On Capri Italian artist and actress Domiziana Giordano, Italian author Francesca Sanvitale (1928 - 2011), Dino Trappetti and Umbe...
Archival Pigment
Sea Drive Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Sea Drive 1967 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Film producer Kevin McClory takes his wife Bobo Sigrist and their family for a drive in an ‘Amphicar’ across the harbour at Nassau....
Archival Pigment
Ocean Club Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Ocean Club Versailles Gardens at the Ocean Club, Nassau with terraced steps leading from a swimming pool to a 14th century French cloisters, 1968. 16×20 ...
Archival Pigment, Color
Lounging In Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers in sun loungers on the slopes at at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961. This is an est...
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Skiing Waiters, 1955
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Three skiing waiters on a ski slope, with the man in the foreground carrying a bird on a tray, the second man carring a wine in an ice bucket and the third carrying a menu, Stowe, Ve...
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'George Hamilton' 1977 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'George Hamilton' American actor George Hamilton holidays in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1977. Paper Size 24x20 inches / 60 x 50 cm Estate Stamped Collection E...
Color, Archival Pigment
Vuccino And Rava 1958 - Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Vuccino And Rava 1958 - Slim Aarons Estate Edition Carla Vuccino, wearing a swimming cap, and a sunbathing Marina Rava, both wearing bikinis as they sit on the rear of a boat, on th...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Dining Al Fresco On Capri
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Dining Al Fresco On Capri Italian artist and actress Domiziana Giordano, Italian author Francesca Sanvitale (1928 - 2011), Dino Trappetti and Umbe...
Archival Pigment
$4,200
Slim Aarons 'Unghia Marina' 1989 Official Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Unghia Marina' A group of people stand on a terrace, at the Unghia Marina on the island of Capri, Italy, in September 1989. Trees dot the side of the marina while a flagpole rises...
Archival Pigment
Snorkelling In The Shallows, Malta, Estate Edition, Aerial Waterscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s aerial landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of people snorkelling off a small boat in Malta. This is an estate stampe...
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Conca dei Marini, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a quiet bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy. This is an estate-stamped and hand-n...
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'Dinner Jazz' 1949 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Dinner Jazz' 1949: American Jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong (1898 – 1971) enjoys a plate of spaghetti in Rome. 30x30 inches / 76 x 76 cm paper size Estate Stamped Co...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Holidaymakers in Bermuda - Natural Sandy Cove on Beach in Bermuda Island
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
On the Beach in Bermuda - Natural Sandy Cove on Beach in Bermuda Island by Slim Aarons 16" x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later "On the ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Cafe Terrace In Nice Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Cafe Terrace In Nice 1957 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Holidaymakers on a cafe terrace in Nice on the French Riviera, 1957. unfra...
Archival Pigment
Zermatt Skiing, 1968
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Skiers in Zermatt, Switzerland, March 1968. Slim Aarons Zermatt Skiing 1968 C print (Printed later) Estate signature stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of au...
C Print
$1,800
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Snowmass Picnic, Colorado, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph This late 1960s winter landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a stand-up fondue...
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Monaco Grand Prix, 1973 - Monaco Grand Prix Formula One James Hunt
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Monaco Grand Prix, 1973 - Monaco Grand Prix Formula One James Hunt by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'Monaco Grand Prix' is a beautiful Limited Edition Estate Stamped Digital C-Type print from 20th Century photographer Slim Aarons. A unique view from the driver's height of Formula One Grand Prix...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Ships that pass, 1969 - Ocean Photography Ketch Yacht Sailboats America
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Ships that pass, 1969 - Ocean Photography Ketch Yacht Sailboats America by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Ships ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Catch Up By the Pool Estate Edition, Modernist Architecture, Palm Springs
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Palm Springs, 1970: This coveted photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features midcentury socialites in front of the turquoise swimming pool of the iconic Kaufma...
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$5,700
Tennis In The Bahamas Slim Aarons Limited Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Tennis In The Bahamas 1957 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Two women stand talking to a man on the edge of a tennis court in the Bahamas, circa 1957. Behind the ...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Social Call' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1972—Charley Weaver at the Las Brisas resort in Acapulco, Mexico. Social Call 30 x 40 inches Estate Edition Slim Aarons Estate Edition Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate...
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Abaco Islander 1986 Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Abaco Islander, 1986 Author Chester Thompson at work in his coconut grove on the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, March 1986. His ancester Wyannie Malone settled on the islands in 178...
Archival Pigment
$3,600
Slim Aarons "Beverly Hills Hotel" Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Beverly Hills Hotel Cars parked outside the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in California, 1957. (Photo by Slim Aarons) Unframed (Premium Collection) Limited Edition Estat...
Archival Pigment
Fishing Boats (1952) Limited Estate Stamped - Giant
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Fishing Boats (1952) Limited Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) Fishing nets and boats on the shore Mexico, 1952. Additional Information: Unframed Paper Size: 40x40'' Pri...
Color, Archival Pigment
Donald Leas 1968 Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Donald Leas April 1968: Mr and Mrs Donald Leas with their Rolls Royce and two pet dogs outside The Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida. 60x60” / 152 x 152 cm - paper size Es...
Archival Pigment
Eye of the Beholder, 1974 - Bronze Bathing Beauties Suntanning on French Riviera
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Eye of the Beholder, 1974 - Bronze Bathing Beauties Suntanning on French Riviera by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
$5,400
Saint-Tropez Boucherie, French Riviera, Estate Edition Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Discover the quintessence of French Riviera charm in Slim Aarons' iconic photograph, 'Saint-Tropez Boucherie,' on Rue des Commercants, Saint-Tropez, 1971. This image is a beautiful intersection of fashion, culture, and everyday life in the sun-drenched streets of Saint-Tropez in August 1971. This photograph features a casual yet captivating scene: two women and a young girl, all dressed in vibrant, vintage early '70s attire in shades of mint green, lemon yellow, and pink, enjoying a leisurely conversation outside a classic red French boucherie or butcher shop. A chic gold and white bicycle, representative of the laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle, is parked unassumingly on the sidewalk. Adding depth to the scene, the shop's proprietor, clad in a purple shirt, can be spotted through the window, lending an authentic touch to the photograph. An enchanting Moroccan-style zellige tile...
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French Leave Hotel (1960) Limited Estate Stamped - Giant
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
French Leave Hotel (1960) Limited Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) Guests at the French Leave Hotel, owned by actor Craig Kelly, at Eleuthera, ...
Color, Archival Pigment
Palm Beach Ladies Slim Aarons Limited Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Palm Beach Ladies' 1964 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Print American socialite Wendy Vanderbilt (right) and another woman wearing Lilly Pulitzer ...
Color, Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons Estate Edition - Palm Beach Idyll
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Palm Beach Idyll A couple sunbathe by the sea at Palm Beach Florida 1955 USA Gorgeous print measuring 30 x 30" inches / ca 76 x 76 cm’s paper size. Estate Stamped Collection Edi...
Archival Pigment
Fan Mail, 1950 - Marilyn Monroe Silk Lace Gown The Asphalt Jungle Fan Mail
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Fan Mail, 1950 - Marilyn Monroe Silk Lace Gown The Asphalt Jungle Fan Mail by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Pleas...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Palm Springs Riders, 1970 - Desert Landscapes in Southern California Hills
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Palm Springs Riders, 1970 - Desert Landscapes in Southern California Hills 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Digital C-Type print. Edition of 150. Printed Later....
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Eden-Roc Pool, 1976
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Guests by the pool at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, August 1976. Eden-Roc Pool 1976 C-Print Estate signature stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate ...
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Skiers Relaxing at Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1982
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Skiers relax in deckchairs by the ski slopes at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, 1982. Cortina d'Ampezzo 1982 C print (Printed later) Estate signature stamped and hand numbered edition of...
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'Keep Your Cool' 1978 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Keep Your Cool' Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Carmen Alvarez enjoying a game of backgammon with Frank 'Brandy' Brandstetter in a swimming pool at Acapulco, 1978. Fashionable Alvarez wearing a white bikini and 'Brandy' sporting a sun hat are seated in the swimming pool playing backgammon in the heat of the Mexican sun. Typically 'Slim Poolside...
C Print
$4,200
Slim Aarons, 'Faraglioni Rocks' Midcentury Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Faraglioni Rocks on the Italian island of Capri, August 1974. Slim Aarons Faraglioni Rocks 1974. (printed later) C print Estate stamped and numbered edition of 150 with Certificat...
C Print
Porto Ercole - Italy - Slim Aarons 20th century colour photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Porto Ercole' Italy (Slim Aarons Estate Edition) A jetty juts out from the rocky shoreline at the Hotel Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1973. Beautiful greens of th...
C Print
Capri Holiday, 1958 - Snorkelling off Coast of Capri Island in Crystal Waters
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Capri Holiday, 1958 - Snorkelling off Coast of Capri Island in Crystal Waters by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'C...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Palm Springs Party, 1970 - Kaufmann House Swimming Pool Palm Springs Villa
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Palm Springs Party, 1970 - Kaufmann House Swimming Pool Palm Springs Villa by Slim Aarons This Portrait by Swimming Pool at Kaufmann House is a sister image to the now SOLD OUT edit...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Slim Aarons 'Finding A Spot' 1973 Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Finding A Spot' 1973 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Print A sunbather at the seaside-style pool of Jacques Couelle's home 'Monte Mano', on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, August ...
C Print, Color
Keep Your Cool - Backgammon Players Swimming Pool France
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Keep Your Cool - Backgammon Players Swimming Pool France by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Keep Your Cool is a Lim...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
$3,900
Skiing In St. Moritz, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Countess Jan Bonde in the Palace Hotel sleigh on Lake St. Moritz, Switzerland. This is an estate ...
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Slim Aarons, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Photographer Slim Aarons (right) on board a yacht off Capri, Italy, September 1968. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity...
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