1975 (printed later)
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.
Backgammon In Haiti 1975 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Backgammon In Haiti 1975 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Close-up of a woman playing backgammon in Haiti, in January 1975. 60 x 40" inches / 152 x 102 cm paper size Estate Stamped C...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons Estate Edition - Backgammon In Haiti
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Close-up of a woman playing backgammon in Haiti, in January 1975. Gorgeous print measuring 30 x 20" inches / ca 76.2 x 50.8 cm’s paper size. Estate Stamped Collection Edition to...
Archival Pigment
'Backgammon By The Pool' 1975 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Backgammon By The Pool' 1975 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Print Women playing backgammon while sunbathing at the Habitation Leclerc pool in Haiti, January 1975. Produced fr...
Color, C Print
Poolside Backgammon 1972 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Poolside Backgammon 1972 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Guests at the Villa Nirvana, owned by Oscar Obregon, in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, 1972. 40 x 60" inches / 102 x 152 cm pa...
Archival Pigment
Poolside Backgammon 1972 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Poolside Backgammon 1972 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Guests at the Villa Nirvana, owned by Oscar Obregon, in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, 1972. 30 x 40" inches / 76 x 101 cm pap...
Archival Pigment
'Poolside Backgammon' 1972 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Poolside Backgammon' Guests at the Villa Nirvana, owned by Oscar Obregon, in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, 1972. Paper Size 24x20 inches / 60 x 50 cm Estate Stamped Collectio...
Archival Pigment
Backgammon In Haiti Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Backgammon In Haiti 1975 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Close-up of a woman playing backgammon in Haiti, in January 1975. unframed c type print printed 2023 24...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons, Backgammon By The Pool (Estate Edition)
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 ...
Lambda
Backgammon by the Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Women playing backgammon while sunbathing at the Habitation Leclerc pool, January 1975 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. 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. Reference: "Dive in: how Slim Aarons art directed the poolside summer. French brand Maje are the latest label to take inspiration from Slim Aarons’ pictures of the jetset on holiday." Slim Aarons Backgammon by the pool...
Lambda
Backgammon by the Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Women playing backgammon while sunbathing at the Habitation Leclerc pool, January 1975 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. 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. Reference: "Dive in: how Slim Aarons art directed the poolside summer. French brand Maje are the latest label to take inspiration from Slim Aarons’ pictures of the jetset on holiday." Slim Aarons Backgammon by the pool...
Lambda
Poolside Backgammon, 1972, Midcentury Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Guests at the Villa Nirvana, owned by Oscar Obregon, in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, 1972. Slim Aarons Poolside Backgammon 1972 C print (Printed later) Estate signature stamped an...
C Print
Poolside Backgammon, 1972, Midcentury Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Guests at the Villa Nirvana, owned by Oscar Obregon, in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexico, 1972. Slim Aarons Poolside Backgammon 1972 C print (Printed later) Estate signature stamped an...
C Print
