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.

Slim Aarons was raised in New York and New Hampshire and began his photography career while in the Army and before long was appointed the official photographer of the United States Military Academy at West Point. When war broke out, he was sent as a combat photographer for Yank magazine and saw action from North Africa to the Middle East to Europe, witnessing the fall of Tobruk and the liberation of Rome, and he received a Purple Heart.

After leaving the army, Aarons became a freelance photojournalist and through his Yank connections headed for his first civilian tour of duty in Hollywood. Slim photographed the Hollywood elite – Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh to name but a few. When Life magazine opened a bureau in Rome, Slim Aarons relocated and it was in the Eternal City, destination of an international array of celebrities and aristocrats, that Slim began in earnest his lifelong project documenting the Beautiful People.

Slim worked for the leading magazines of the day including Life, Holiday, Town & Country, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Travel & Leisure, traveling often to attend parties in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue, spending winters in Gstaad or Palm Beach, summers on the French or Italian riviera or all around the Caribbean. Slim Aarons was very much at ease and on familiar terms with the world’s elite and he brought to his portraits a freshness and certain élan that they greatly appreciated. As a result, Slim was welcomed into the exclusive retreats of the world’s glitterati and his imagery attains a degree of intimacy approaching that of family photos.

In recent years, the influence of his work has been increasingly acknowledged and he is now regarded as one of the most influential photographers of his generation. Slim Aarons prints depicting swimming pools, rich people and fashion are increasingly sought after by collectors from all over the world.

Courtesy Getty Images Slim Aarons Estate
All Images Rights: Getty Images

Slim Aarons “Poolside Party”, 1970, Photo by Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Courtesy Getty Images

Slim Aarons “Poolside Party”, 1970, Photo by Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Courtesy Getty Images

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.

Slim Aarons was raised in New York and New Hampshire and began his photography career while in the Army and before long was appointed the official photographer of the United States Military Academy at West Point. When war broke out, he was sent as a combat photographer for Yank magazine and saw action from North Africa to the Middle East to Europe, witnessing the fall of Tobruk and the liberation of Rome, and he received a Purple Heart.

After leaving the army, Aarons became a freelance photojournalist and through his Yank connections headed for his first civilian tour of duty in Hollywood. Slim photographed the Hollywood elite – Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh to name but a few. When Life magazine opened a bureau in Rome, Slim Aarons relocated and it was in the Eternal City, destination of an international array of celebrities and aristocrats, that Slim began in earnest his lifelong project documenting the Beautiful People.

Slim worked for the leading magazines of the day including Life, Holiday, Town & Country, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Travel & Leisure, traveling often to attend parties in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue, spending winters in Gstaad or Palm Beach, summers on the French or Italian riviera or all around the Caribbean. Slim Aarons was very much at ease and on familiar terms with the world’s elite and he brought to his portraits a freshness and certain élan that they greatly appreciated. As a result, Slim was welcomed into the exclusive retreats of the world’s glitterati and his imagery attains a degree of intimacy approaching that of family photos.

In recent years, the influence of his work has been increasingly acknowledged and he is now regarded as one of the most influential photographers of his generation. Slim Aarons prints depicting swimming pools, rich people and fashion are increasingly sought after by collectors from all over the world.

Courtesy Getty Images Slim Aarons Estate
All Images Rights: Getty Images

slim aarons Works

In The Strip Gallery, in collaboration with Getty Images Slim Aarons Estate, you can purchase original Slim Aarons prints.

All available Slim Aarons prints are made with the chromogenic printing technique (C-Print) and are sold with Certificate of Authenticity by Estate Slim Aarons – Getty Images.

You can buy two different types of Slim Aarons prints:

Estate Open Edition, original Slim Aarons prints in open edition with certification of authenticity and Getty Images Estate stamps;
Estate Limited Edition, original Slim Aarons prints limited edition of 150 copies worldwide, with numbering and embossed signature by Slim Aarons, with certification of authenticity and Getty Images Estate stamps.

All rights of Slim Aarons prints are reserved by Getty Images Slim Aarons Estate.

 

Slim Aarons, Beverly Hills, 1957

Slim Aarons

Beverly Hills Hotel, 1957

C-print on photographic paper

30 x 30 in | 76 x 76 cm

Slim Aarons, Poolside Party, 1970

Slim Aarons

Poolside Party, 1970

C-print on photographic paper

from 20 x 30 in | 50 x 76 cm

Slim Aarons, Poolside Gossip, 1970

Slim Aarons

Poolside Gossip, 1970

C-print on photographic paper

from 20 x 30 in | 50 x 76 cm

Slim Aarons, Eden-Roc Pool, 1976

Slim Aarons

Eden-Roc Pool, 1976

C-print on photographic paper

from 12 x 16 in | 40 x 50 cm

Slim Aarons, Nice Pool, 1950s

Slim Aarons

Nice Pool, 1950s

C-print on photographic paper

from 20 x 20 in | 51 x 51 cm

Slim Aarons, Poolside Pairs, 1970

Slim Aarons

Poolside Pairs, 1970

C-print on photographic paper

from 20 x 30 in | 50 x 76 cm

Slim Aarons, Catherine Wilke, 1980

Slim Aarons

Catherine Wilke, 1980

C-print on photographic paper

from 12 x 16 in | 40 x 50 cm

slim aarons News

Slim Aarons
Although he himself liked to define himself as the photographer of “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places”, there is much, much more in Slim Aarons’ photographs.
To understand the importance of his photographs, often aimed at immortalizing the life of great American celebrities, you need to know his personal biography.

Slim Aarons
Flipping through travel or fashion magazines, or just scrolling through Instagram, Slim Aarons’ photographs are everywhere. Slim Aarons is one of the most loved and appreciated photographers of all time.
Slim Aarons’ photographs are a journey into the past, which today are enriched by the ability to tell all the charm of the last century, with its clothes, its celebrities and its extravagances.
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