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Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

American, 1916-2006

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.

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Artist: Slim Aarons
Slim Aarons 'Zermatt Skiing'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Zermatt Skiing 1968 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. The apres-ski...
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1960s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Hibiscus Flowers
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman surrounded by red hibiscus flowers in a swimming pool in Acapulco, Mexico, circa 1960. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Underwater Drink (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A woman drinking from a coconut underwater in the pool at Las Brisas Hotel in Acapulco, Mexico, February 1972. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of a...
Category

1970s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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C Print, Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Versace And Spagnol'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Versace And Spagnol 1983 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Italian fashion designer Gianni Ver...
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1980s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Island Lookout
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
May 1968: Nattily dressed, W Clifford Klenk with his telescope and his wife, Hope in their Hog island house. 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 20 x 20 inches $2500 12 x 1...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Governing Couple
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nancy Reagan and her husband film star and Governor of California, Ronald Reagan (later the 40th President of the USA) in Acapulco, mexico. Complimentary dealer shipping to your fr...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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C Print

Slim Aarons 'Adriatic Riviera' (Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Princess Pia 1980 Chromogenic Lambda Print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Princess Pia Ruspoli laying...
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1980s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Saint-Tropez Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The beach at Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1971. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Swimming In The Bahamas
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Brightly coloured swimmers in a pool in Nassau on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, 1959. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 inches...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Harbour Island
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Harbour Island in the Bahamas, 1970. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide....
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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St Tropez Garden
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An elegant woman poses in a garden in St Tropez, August 1977. 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 16 x 20 inches $2150 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping t...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Slim Aarons 'Pool At El Cuarton'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Pool At El Cuarton 1971 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Bathers at a pool in El Cuarton, Cos...
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1970s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Island Lookout
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
May 1968: Nattily dressed, W Clifford Klenk with his telescope and his wife, Hope in their Hog island house. 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 20 x 20 inches $2500 12 x 1...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Castle Carpeneto'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Castle Carpeneto 1987 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Marchese Gian Giacomo Chiavari, his wi...
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1980s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Katherine Hepburn, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1953: American film star Katharine Hepburn (1907 - 2003) driving along the waterfront with Irene Mayer Selznick at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of ...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Nassau Beach Hotel
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The outdoor swimming pool at Nassau Beach Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas, 1959. The hotel was the first to built by Howard Johnson outside the United States. 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 i...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Hamilton Hostess
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mrs George Davenport Aldrich and dogs on the lawn of her estate in Hamilton, Massachusetts, circa 1960. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 Complimenta...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Commander Whitehead
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Commander Edward Whitehead (1908 - 1978), the public face of Schweppes, leans on a silver Rolls Royce at Lyford Cay, New Providence Island, April 1974. Commander Whitehead served in ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Great Harbour Cay
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A bather on the beach on Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas, March 1973. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shippin...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Peggy Guggenheim
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
September 1978: Peggy Guggenheim (1898 - 1979) in the Palazzo Venier Dei Leoni, Venice. The palace houses her private art collection, including Picasso's 'On the Beach', pictured to ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Slim Aarons Official Estate Print - Party At The Playboy Mansion X
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim Aarons Estate Print - Party At The Playboy Mansion X Guests of American publisher Hugh Hefner enjoying themselves at a party being held at the Playboy Mansion, Chicago, 1961....
Category

1960s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print, Color

Abercorns On Windermere
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
James and Alexandra Hamilton, the 5th Duke and Duchess of Abercorn holiday on Windermere Island in the Bahamas, with their children Sophia and James, April 1980. 40 x 60 inches $395...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Black Pearl Trippers
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Henry B. Cabot Jr. (standing, centre) with his son Henry Bromfield Cabot III and their host Barclay (Buzzy) H Warburton III (in striped shirt) aboard the brigantine 'Black Pearl', ci...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Saint-Tropez Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The beach at Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1971. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping ...
Category

1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Spot The Ball
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1960: A polo match at the Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton, Massachusetts. The club was so named because of the near-sightedness of its original members. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x ...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Campbell Falls Picnic
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A family enjoying a picnic on the bank of the Whiting River near Campbell Falls, Massachusetts, USA, 1959. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 Complime...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Treasure Cay
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Treasure Cay resort on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, March 1986. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer sh...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

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Lambda

Lunch At Merle's
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
English actress Merle Oberon (1911 - 1979, second from right) and lunch guests at her villa, La Consentida, Acapulco, 1966. Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. ...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Harbour Isle Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Holidaymakers on the deck of yacht in Saint-Tropez, France, August 1971. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Laguna Beach Surfers'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Laguna Beach Surfers 1970 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Three surfers with their boards at...
Category

1970s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons 'Backgammon in Haiti'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Backgammon By The Pool, 1975 Chromogenic Lambda Print Estate edition of 150 Women playing backgammon while sunbathing at the Habitation Leclerc pool in Haiti, January 1975. Estate ...
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1960s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Harbour Island, Bahamas
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A couple relax at the beach on Harbour Island, Bahamas, 1967. 16 x 20 inches $2150 12 x 16 inches $1800 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldw...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Nassau Beach Hotel
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The outdoor swimming pool at Nassau Beach Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas, 1959. The hotel was the first to built by Howard Johnson outside the United States. 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 i...
Category

1950s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Abaco Holiday
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
College student Jan Woods relaxes in a hammock at the Abaco Inn on Elbow Cay, one of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, March 1986. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 ...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Abaco Holiday
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
College student Jan Woods relaxes in a hammock at the Abaco Inn on Elbow Cay, one of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, March 1986. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 ...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Peace And Plenty
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
People by the pool at Club Peace And Plenty, Georgetown on the island of Great Exuma, Bahamas, April 1967. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 ...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Peace And Plenty
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
People by the pool at Club Peace And Plenty, Georgetown on the island of Great Exuma, Bahamas, April 1967. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 ...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Marbella Club (Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Marbella Club C print 1976 The swimming pool of the Marbella Club in Andalucia looks out over the sea, 1976. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certif...
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1960s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Hotel Taormina Pool, Sicily, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The seaside swimming pool at the Hotel Taormina, Sicily, August 1975. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Chromogenic...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Commander Whitehead
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Commander Edward Whitehead (1908 - 1978), the public face of Schweppes, leans on a silver Rolls Royce at Lyford Cay, New Providence Island, April 1974. Commander Whitehead served in ...
Category

1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons Official Estate Print - Skiing In Stowe
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim Aarons Estate Print - Skiing In Stowe Two women in knitwear, leaning on ski sticks, while standing in the Stowe Mountain ski resort in Stowe, Vermont, 1962. Behind the two wo...
Category

1960s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print, Color

Abaco Holiday
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
College student Jan Woods relaxes in a hammock at the Abaco Inn on Elbow Cay, one of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, March 1986. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 ...
Category

1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Peace And Plenty
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
People by the pool at Club Peace And Plenty, Georgetown on the island of Great Exuma, Bahamas, April 1967. 40 x 60 inches $3950 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 10 x 12 ...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Spot The Ball
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1960: A polo match at the Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton, Massachusetts. The club was so named because of the near-sightedness of its original members. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x ...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Cotton Bay
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Campbells' pool at Cotton Bay, on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, November 1982. 20 x 24 inches $2500 16 x 20 inches $2150 12 x 16 inches $1800 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complim...
Category

1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Cotton Bay
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Campbells' pool at Cotton Bay, on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, November 1982. 20 x 24 inches $2500 16 x 20 inches $2150 12 x 16 inches $1800 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complim...
Category

1980s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

The Bahamas
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A swimming pool, seen through the fronds of a palm tree, with two people swimming and a group of people sitting at tables at the poolside in the Bahamas, May 1967. Beyond the pool is...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

The Bahamas
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A swimming pool, seen through the fronds of a palm tree, with two people swimming and a group of people sitting at tables at the poolside in the Bahamas, May 1967. Beyond the pool is...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Social Call, Las Brisas, Acapulco (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Social Call, Las Brisas, Acapulco, 1972 Chromogenic lambda print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Char...
Category

1970s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Snorkeling Holiday (Turks and Caicos) Slim Aarons
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Snorkeling Holiday (Turks and Caicos), 1975 Chromogenic lambda print A snorkeling holiday in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, circa 1975. Estate stam...
Category

1970s Modern Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Out Islands
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sailing boats in the Out Islands of the Bahamas, April 1964. 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 16 x 20 inches $2150 12 x 16 inches $1800 Complimentary dealer shipping to...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Great Harbour Cay
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A bather on the beach on Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas, March 1973. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shippin...
Category

1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Campbell Falls Picnic
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A family enjoying a picnic on the bank of the Whiting River near Campbell Falls, Massachusetts, USA, 1959. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 Complime...
Category

1950s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

La Concha Beach Club
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A view of La Concha Beach Club, Acapulco, Mexico, February 1972. Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Undercurrent Projects is proud to...
Category

1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

C Print

Island Lookout
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
May 1968: Nattily dressed, W Clifford Klenk with his telescope and his wife, Hope in their Hog island house. 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 20 x 20 inches $2500 12 x 1...
Category

1960s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Harbour Island
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Harbour Island in the Bahamas, 1970. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide....
Category

1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Eleuthera Pool Party
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Circa 1970, Eleuthera Pool Party, Bahamas. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Bahamanian Hotel
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A hotel on the coast at Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas, March 1973. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 24 x 24 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, world...
Category

1970s Realist Slim Aarons Figurative Photography

Materials

Lambda

Slim Aarons figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Slim Aarons figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of figurative photography to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, purple, green and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Slim Aarons in c print, silver gelatin print, digital print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Slim Aarons figurative photography, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Mark Shaw, Neal Slavin, and Bob Gruen. Slim Aarons figurative photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,350 and tops out at $7,015, while the average work can sell for $2,750.

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