Slim AaronsC.Z. Guest with Joanne Connelly in Palm Beach1955
1955
About the Item
- Creator:Slim Aarons (1916-2006, American)
- Creation Year:1955
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: G13021229158
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.
- Pop and SocietyBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYPop and Society, 1968: Marianne Faithful, Desmond Guinness, and Mick Jagger at Castletown Mansion, Ireland. Staley-Wise Gallery offers photographic ...Category
1960s Color Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Bust with Ties, ParisLocated in New York, NYSigned by the photographerCategory
1980s Modern Still-life Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Poolside GossipBy Slim AaronsLocated in New York, NYPoolside Gossip, 1970: Lita Baron, Nelda Linsk, Helen Dzo Dzo at the Richard Neutra-designed house of Edgar Kaufman Staley-Wise Gallery offers photogr...Category
1970s Color Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Twiggy, VogueBy Bert SternLocated in New York, NYTwiggy, Vogue, 1967Category
1960s Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Lil' Kim: Luxury ItemBy David LaChapelleLocated in New York, NYAvailability is subject to change without notice.Category
1990s Color Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Liebescnitzed, 1996By David LaChapelleLocated in New York, NYAvailability is subject to change without notice.Category
1990s Photography
MaterialsC Print
- "Shoe Shop" Type C Metallic PrintBy Jen ZahigianLocated in West Hollywood, CAJen's love of photography began as a child, when her grandfather, a photographer, gave her a camera. However, it wasn't until she graduated from UC Berkeley that photography became a...Category
2010s Contemporary Photography
MaterialsC Print
- "Rink", South Virginia, 1979By John DolanLocated in Hudson, NYListing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition 1 of 10. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is p...Category
1970s Contemporary Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Blue Moon, East Hampton, NY, 2017By Bob SteinerLocated in Hudson, NYWe are excited to announce the grand opening of “Indian Summer” at La Plage in Sag Harbor. This exhibition will include Fine Art + Photography from the Robin Rice Gallery including R...Category
2010s Modern Color Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Verdi in Front of a Book, FranceBy GladysLocated in Hudson, NYEach year, Robin Rice celebrates a Salon style exhibition to showcase her gallery artists and invite new ones. With Robin’s extensive experience as a gallery curator, all Robin Rice...Category
Early 2000s Modern Color Photography
MaterialsC Print, Digital
- Miguel as Man, New York, NY, 2009By Kim ReiersonLocated in Hudson, NYEach year, Robin Rice celebrates a Salon style exhibition to showcase her gallery artists and invite new ones. With Robin’s extensive experience as a gallery curator, all Robin Rice...Category
Early 2000s Modern Portrait Photography
MaterialsC Print
- Dorset Quarry JumperBy Kevin RyanLocated in Hudson, NYListing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 25. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is produced...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Color Photography
MaterialsC Print
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.