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.
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[1st ed] Slim Aarons: A Wonderful Time (Inscribed)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
First edition, stated, of Slim Aarons’s first book of photographs, published in 1974 by Harper & Row. “Attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places,” in the artist’...
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Wonderful Time, an Intimate Portrait of the Good Life by Slim Aarons, 1st Ed
By Slim Aarons
Located in valatie, NY
"Wonderful Time, An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life by Slim Aarons." New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. Stated first edition hardcover with no dust jacket, 1974. A photo essay do...
Paper
Once Upon a Time (Inscribed by Slim Aarons)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
First edition, first printing (with number line ending in 1) of this compilation of photographs by renowned photographer Slim Aarons, known for his now-iconic environmental portraits...
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$2,182
H 12 in W 9.5 in D 0.05 in
From the Personal collection of Audrey Hepburn, Photo by Vincent Rossell, 1962
By Vincent Rossell
Located in Devon, GB
Audrey Hepburn on the set of 'Paris When it Sizzles,' Paris, 1962 by Vincent Rossell Vintage gelatin silver print Photographer's credit stamp, Audrey Hepburn collection stamp and numerical notations verso From the Personal Collection of Audrey Hepburn...
Paper
$2,182
H 12.01 in W 9.45 in D 0.01 in
From The Personal Collection of Audrey Hepburn, Photo by Vincent Rossell, 1962
By Vincent Rossell
Located in Devon, GB
Audrey Hepburn on the set of 'Paris When it Sizzles,' Paris, 1962 by Vincent Rossell Vintage gelatin silver print Photographer's credit stamp, Au...
Other
Antique Hardcover Book 'The Forties' by Keylin & Cohen, Folk Art, 1980
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
The Forties: As Reported By The New York Times By Keylin, Arleen; Cohen, Jonathan. Title The Forties: As Reported by the New York Times Author Keyli...
Paper
$4,092
H 11.97 in W 9.45 in D 0.02 in
From the Personal Collection of Audrey Hepburn, Photo by Vincent Rossell, 1962
By Vincent Rossell
Located in Devon, GB
Audrey Hepburn on the set of 'Paris When It Sizzles' Vintage gelatin silver print by Vincent Rossell Photographer's credit stamp, Audrey Hepburn ...
Paper
$2,500
H 9.5 in W 6.375 in D 0.75 in
MILNE, A. A.. Winnie The Pooh. FIRST COLOR ED INSCRIBED BY CHRISTOPHER MILNE !
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: MILNE, A. A. TITLE: Winnie The Pooh. PUBLISHER: London: Methuen Children's Books, 1973. DESCRIPTION: FIRST COLOR EDITION FIRST PRINTING AND INSCRIBED BY CHRISTOPHER (ROBI...
Leather
$45
H 8.25 in W 8.25 in D 0.75 in
Mirrors: Reflections of Style by Paula Phipps, Signed & Inscribed Stated 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
Mirrors: Reflections of Style by Paula Phipps. Publisher; WW Norton & Co, NY, 2012. Stated 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket Signed and Inscribed by Author. An ideal resource for any...
Paper
The Khmers History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization Art Book
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
The Khmers History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization by Stefano Vecchia. This is a history of the Khmers, the p...
Paper
My Time at Tiffany's by Gene Moore, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
My Time at Tiffany's by Gene Moore. St Martins Press, 1990. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Gene Moore dressed Tiffany's windows for 35 years and helped ...
Paper
$95 / item
H 12 in W 10 in D 2 in
The National Air and Space Museum Book by Bryan, C. D. B 1st Edition 1979
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
THE NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM by Bryan, C. D. B Hardcover Book Condition Used - Very Good First edition edition 1979 The book is approx 10" x 2" x 11 3/4" and is in a good, vintage condition with light shelf-wear on the dust-jacket. Hardcover, New York: Harry N. Abrams. With many color photographs of the Museum's exhibits. Very heavy book The National Air and Space Museum by C.D.B Byran. Experience the thrill of flying some of the world's most important airplanes and spacecraft. Best Of The National Air And Space Museum provides unprecedented access to the most popular museum in the world. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum hosts more than 9 million visitors a year, and the newly opened Dulles Center three football fields long and ten stories high is a phenomenon in its own right: in the first week it was opened, some 250,000 people came through the doors. Best Of The National Air And Space Museum features the best of both museums, from the Challenger space shuttle and the Wright flyer...
Paper
$485
H 13.25 in W 10 in D 1.25 in
Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright Country House 1986 1st Ed. Large Hardcover B
By (after) Frank Lloyd Wright
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Fallingwater - a Frank Lloyd Wright Country House. Vintage 1986 1st Edition Modernism Architecture Large Hardcover Book. DIMENSIONS: 9.75"W × 13.25"D × 1.25"H Fallingwater - A Fra...
Paper
An inscribed copy of Harry Bertoia's "Sculptor"
By Harry Bertoia
Located in Toronto, Ontario
A nice inscribed copy of June Kompass Nelson's book "Harry Bertoia , Sculptor"
Paper
$55
H 12.25 in W 10 in D 1 in
A History of Ballet and Dance in the Western World Book by Alexander Bland
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
A History of Ballet and Dance in the Western World Book by Alexander Bland. Title A History of Ballet and Dance in the Western World Author Alexander Bland Publisher Praeger, 1976...
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H 30.5 in W 27.5 in D 1 in
Mid-Century Modern Framed Photo Danger Banker Signed Slim Aarons Rockefeller
By Slim Aarons
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is a framed photograph, "Danger Banker in Hole, David Rockefeller," signed by Slim Aarons, circa 1955. In excellent condition, 1950s. The dimensions of the fra...
Paper
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H 13.5 in W 10.5 in D 1 in
Wonderful Time, An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life by Slim Aarons, 1st Ed
By Slim Aarons
Located in valatie, NY
"Wonderful Time, An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life by Slim Aarons." New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. Stated first edition hardcover with dust jacket, 1974. A photo essay done ...
Paper
"Poolside with Slim Aarons" Book, First Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in valatie, NY
Poolside with Slim Aarons, first edition, by Slim Aarons. Harry N. Abrams, New York, NY, 2007. Hardcover with dust jacket. Great photographs, another Classic by Slim Aarons who was n...
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Slim Aarons – Poolside with Slim Aarons, Book 2007
By Slim Aarons
Located in CA, CA
First edition, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2007. Introduction by William Norwich. In the same vein as Aaron's previous publication, "Once Upon a Time" and &quo...
"A Wonderful Time" Book by Slim Aarons
By Slim Aarons
Located in valatie, NY
A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life by Slim Aarons. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. First Edition. Hardcover with dust jacket. Slim Aarons was an American photo...
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