1964
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.
Nicholsons Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Nicholsons Cafe Nicholson in New York, 1959. 20 x 20" - paper size Estate Stamped Collection Edition to 150 Photo by Slim Aarons Printed in 2025 Limited to 150 prints only ...
Archival Pigment, Color
Palm Beach Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Palm Beach The pool at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 1955. 16×16 inches - paper size Estate Stamped Collection Edition to 150 Photo by Slim Aarons Printed in ...
Archival Pigment, Color
Palm Beach Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Oz Tennis Stars 1956 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Australian tennis players Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall at the Newport Tennis week i...
Archival Pigment
Kasimir Korybut Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Kasimir Korybut 1971 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Kasimir Korybut and Michelle Vaughan begin a raft ride up the White River in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, 1971 unfra...
Archival Pigment
All Mine Ladies Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
All Mine 1968 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Jim Kimberly and his wife, with his white sports car and white boats moored on Lake Worth. A Palm Beach socialite, ...
Archival Pigment
Nicholsons (1959) Limited Estate Stamped - Grande XL
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Nicholsons (1959) Limited Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) Cafe Nicholson in New York, 1959. Additional Information: Unframed Paper Size: 30x30'' Printed Later Limited...
Color, Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Slim And Sphinx' Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim And Sphinx by Slim Aarons circa 1964: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at work in Shepheard’s night club whose decor recreates a famous Cairo bar. (Photo by Slim Aarons) Limited editio...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Slim And Sphinx' Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim And Sphinx by Slim Aarons circa 1964: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at work in Shepheard’s night club whose decor recreates a famous Cairo bar. (Photo by Slim Aarons) Limited editio...
Archival Pigment
Slim and Sphinx, 1964 - Estate Stamped Print, Limited Edition C-Type Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Slim and Sphinx, 1964 by Slim Aarons 16" x 16" on 16" x 20" paper. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'Slim and Sphinx' is a Limited Edition Esta...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Slim Aarons Official Estate Print - Slim And Sphynx
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim and Sphynx Circa 1964: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at work in Shepheard's night club whose decor recreates a famous Cairo bar. 40 x 40" inches / 101 x 101 cm paper size Estate...
Archival Pigment
Slim and Sphinx, Estate Edition: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at Shepheard's
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1964: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at work in Shepheard's night club whose decor recreates a famous Cairo bar. Two gold and turquoise sphinxes flank the DJ, who is posed behind two record players and before a glittering sculpture. Hyatt is often credited as the first disco DJ in the US. Initially hired by Oliver Coquelin upon the opening of Le Club, Hyatt quickly became one of the most revered figures in the emerging disco scene. He also DJed at Doubles from 1984 to 1995, and has been called by the painter and bandleader Peter Duchin “the first discotheque artist in New York." Slim and Sphinx, 1964 Slim Aarons Estate Edition Photograph Stamped and hand numbered by the Slim Aarons Estate. Certificate of Authenticity included. Chromogenic Lambda C-type print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Crisp detail, continuous tone and brilliant color Paper weight 210gms Matte Satin Surface Printed Later Collector will get the next number in the edition Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure, a history of glamour that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Aarons began his career as a combat photographer in World War II. Though he earned a Purple Heart for his service, he declared that combat had taught him that the only beach worth landing on was decorated with beautiful people enjoying themselves in the sun. Increasingly known for his influence, Aarons's casually glamorous jetset aesthetic can be seen today in fashion, art, and celebrity photography. Recent articles credit his work with inspiring the casually flawless style of top Instagram influencers, full of sunshine and escapism. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Internal: Vintage New York, Vintage glamour, 60's glamour, Vintage DJ...
Lambda
Slim and Sphinx, Estate Edition: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at Shepheard's
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
circa 1964: New York DJ Slim Hyatt at work in Shepheard's night club whose decor recreates a famous Cairo bar. Two gold and turquoise sphinxes flank the DJ, who is posed behind two record players and before a glittering sculpture. Hyatt is often credited as the first disco DJ in the US. Initially hired by Oliver Coquelin upon the opening of Le Club, Hyatt quickly became one of the most revered figures in the emerging disco scene. He also DJed at Doubles from 1984 to 1995, and has been called by the painter and bandleader Peter Duchin “the first discotheque artist in New York." Slim and Sphinx, 1964 Slim Aarons Estate Edition Photograph Stamped and hand numbered by the Slim Aarons Estate. Certificate of Authenticity included. Chromogenic Lambda C-type print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Crisp detail, continuous tone and brilliant color Paper weight 210gms Matte Satin Surface Printed Later Collector will get the next number in the edition Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure, a history of glamour that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Aarons began his career as a combat photographer in World War II. Though he earned a Purple Heart for his service, he declared that combat had taught him that the only beach worth landing on was decorated with beautiful people enjoying themselves in the sun. Increasingly known for his influence, Aarons's casually glamorous jetset aesthetic can be seen today in fashion, art, and celebrity photography. Recent articles credit his work with inspiring the casually flawless style of top Instagram influencers, full of sunshine and escapism. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Internal: Vintage New York, Vintage glamour, 60's glamour, Vintage DJ...
Lambda
