Realist art attempts to portray its subject matter without artifice. Similar to naturalism, authentic realist paintings and prints see an integration of true-to-life colors, meticulous detail and linear perspectives for accurate portrayals of the world.
Work that involves illusionistic techniques of realism dates back to the classical world, such as the deceptive trompe l’oeil used since ancient Greece. Art like this became especially popular in the 17th century when Dutch artists like Evert Collier painted objects that appeared real enough to touch. Realism as an artistic movement, however, usually refers to 19th-century French realist artists such as Honoré Daumier exploring social and political issues in biting lithographic prints, while the likes of Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet painting people — particularly the working class — with all their imperfections, navigating everyday urban life. This was a response to the dominant academic art tradition that favored grand paintings of myth and history.
By the turn of the 20th century, European artists, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, were experimenting with nearly photographic realism in their work, as seen in the attention to every botanical attribute of the flowers surrounding the drowned Ophelia painted by English artist John Everett Millais.
Although abstraction was the guiding style of 20th-century art, the realism trend in American modern art endured in Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and other artists’ depictions of the complexities of the human experience. In the late 1960s, Photorealism emerged with artists like Chuck Close and Richard Estes giving their paintings the precision of a frame of film.
Contemporary artists such as Jordan Casteel, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Aliza Nisenbaum are now using the unvarnished realist approach for honest representations of people and their worlds. Alongside traditional mediums, technology such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and immersive installations are helping artists create new sensations of realism in art.
Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
Gloria Schiff and Consuelo Crespi, Sardinia, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Pilar Crespi and her sister, Italian countess Consuelo Crespi (1928-2010), in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia...
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Japan – Deshima, Nagasaki – Hand-colored Meiji Period photograph
Located in Middletown, NY
Yokohama, Japan: 1890s. Hand-tinted albumen print, 7 7/8 x 10 1/4 inches (200 x 260 mm), captioned in negative at lower right. Unmounted; housed in an archival mat with clear mounti...
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Japan – A costumed Geisha on stage - hand-colored photograph
Located in Middletown, NY
Yokohama, Japan: c 1885. Hand-tinted albumen print, 10 1/2 x 8 inches (268 x 204 mm), hand-numbered 498 in negative; pencil inscription in Japanese on verso. Light scratch in negati...
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Japan, Girl Winter Costume
By Baron Raimund von Stillfried
Located in Middletown, NY
Stillfried, Raimund von Japan, Girl Winter Costume Yokohama, Japan: c 1880. Hand-tinted albumen print, 10 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches (260x 200 mm), numbered B 1080 and titled in the lower r...
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Dolores Del Rio by the Pool, Acapulco (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mexican film star Dolores Del Rio (1905 - 1983, centre) lounges by the pool with Micki Salle, a friend and a poodle, Acapulco, 1952. Slim Aarons Dolor...
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$3,600
Rockefeller Brothers, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1980 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Rockefeller brothers in their Radio City, New York office. Left to right, Laurance (1910 - 2...
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$3,600
A Colourful Crew, Bermuda, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of colourfully dressed friends on board the Calypso clothing store owned boat, Bermuda. ...
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Governing Couple
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nancy Reagan and her husband film star and Governor of California, Ronald Reagan (later the 40th President of the USA) in Acapulco, mexico. Complimentary dealer shipping to your fr...
C Print
Rita Aarons, Hawaii, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1955s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Rita Aarons, wife of photographer Slim Aarons, during the filming of 'Mister Roberts' in Ha...
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Rita Aarons, Hawaii, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1955s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Rita Aarons, wife of photographer Slim Aarons, during the filming of 'Mister Roberts' in Ha...
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Rita Aarons, Hawaii, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1955s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Rita Aarons, wife of photographer Slim Aarons, during the filming of 'Mister Roberts' in Ha...
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Cooly, drawing Jinrikisha (Rickshaw)
Located in Middletown, NY
Hand-tinted albumen print, 7 3/4 x 10 inches (195 x 252 mm), pasted onto a gold-edged board with caption hand-written in black ink.
Watercolor, Photographic Paper
Beach Backgammon, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1950s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features people playing backgammon on the beach at the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido, Italy This is an es...
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Peter Viertel, Biarritz, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features author and screenwriter Peter Viertel (1920 - 2007) with his surfboard on the beach at Biarritz, France. T...
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Peter Viertel, Biarritz, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features author and screenwriter Peter Viertel (1920 - 2007) with his surfboard on the beach at Biarritz, France. T...
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Peter Viertel, Biarritz, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features author and screenwriter Peter Viertel (1920 - 2007) with his surfboard on the beach at Biarritz, France. T...
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Peter Viertel, Biarritz, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features author and screenwriter Peter Viertel (1920 - 2007) with his surfboard on the beach at Biarritz, France. T...
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Peter Viertel, Biarritz, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features author and screenwriter Peter Viertel (1920 - 2007) with his surfboard on the beach at Biarritz, France. T...
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Katherine Hepburn
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1953: American film star Katharine Hepburn (1907 - 2003) driving along the waterfront with Irene Mayer Selznick at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of ...
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$1,800
The Hotel Excelsior, Rome, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a woman holding her skis in North Conway, New Hampshire. This is an estate stamped and han...
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Santa and Serena Antonelli, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Santa and Serena Antonelli and a guest dining al fresco on the terrace of their home abov...
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Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of the Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, Italy, August 1973. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certi...
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All Aboard, Monaco, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of Friends boarding a riva boat in Monte Carlo, Monaco. This is an estate stamped...
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Mick Jagger on Holiday, Mustique Island, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features British rock star Mick Jagger holidays on the island of Mustique in the Grenadines. This ...
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$5,700
Penthouse Pool, Estate Edition, Poolside Landscape with Acropolis, Athens Greece
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons’s Penthouse Pool captures a sunlit moment of casual glamour at the Canellopoulos penthouse pool in Athens, Greece. Taken in July 1961, the photograph shows a group of you...
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The Costa-Delords, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1980s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Delfina Costa-Delord and Alessia Costa-Delord posing for a portrait, each wearing a hat, in Asolo, Ita...
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Pierro and Ludovico Antinori, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1980s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Pierro Antinori and Ludovico Antinori posing by a well, on which rests a bottle of white wine and two g...
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Pierro and Ludovico Antinori, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1980s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Pierro Antinori and Ludovico Antinori posing by a well, on which rests a bottle of white wine and two g...
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$3,000
Pope Paul VI, Venice, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) delivering a sermon during his visit to Venice, Italy, in October 1972. Th...
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$2,400
Pope Paul VI, Venice, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) delivering a sermon during his visit to Venice, Italy, in October 1972. Th...
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$1,800
Pope Paul VI, Venice, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) delivering a sermon during his visit to Venice, Italy, in October 1972. Th...
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$3,600
Tullio Abbate, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1980s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Tullio Abbate of Abbate Boats at the back of a yacht moored at a property on the shores of Lake Como,...
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Champagne by the Pool, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo (in white crochet, left) talking to a guest by the pool at Ne...
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Poolside Friendship, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Li...
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Poolside Host, California, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. The house wa...
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Poolside Host, California, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests by the pool at Nelda Linsk's desert house in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. The house wa...
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$2,400
Skiing in Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features (from left to right) Christine Camerana, Caroline Stoop, and Christine Semenenko Warrender...
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$1,800
A Colourful Crew, Bermuda, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of colourfully dressed friends on board the Calypso clothing store owned boat, Bermuda. ...
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Faithful Couple: Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithfull at Leixlip Castle, Estate Ed.
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons's iconic and unusual photograph of 60's rock and roll legends, captured in a moment of casual glamour. 1968: Singer Marianne Faithfull, the Honorable Desmond Guinness and Mick Jagger (of the Rolling Stones) sit on a sofa under a large gilt framed portrait of a woman in 18th century silk dress at Leixlip Castle, Ireland, the home of Desmond Guinness. The sofa is a deep burgundy red, and the background features a richly patterned and gilded wallpaper...
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All Aboard, Monaco, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of Friends boarding a riva boat in Monte Carlo, Monaco. This is an estate stamped...
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Villa Del Balbianello, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1980s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Italian mountain climber and explorer Guido Monzino (1928-1988) and four people relaxing on the terrace of Monzino's home, Villa del Balbianello...
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Pebble Beach Hunt, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Riders gather in the courtyard of Richard Collins' House for the stirrup cup libation, before the start of the Pebble Beach Hunt of English and American foxhounds, November 1976. The...
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Poolside In Kenya, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a woman sitting at the edge of a swimming pool in Kenya, December 1958. This is an estate...
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$2,400
Palm Springs Life, Palm Springs, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1970 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Nelda Linsk (left, in yellow), wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk with guests by the pool at the Li...
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Sunbathing In Burgenstock, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Lilian Hanson sunbathing by a pool at the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne in Canton Nidwald...
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Skiing In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a young woman waiting to go on a ski run in Stowe, Vermont, USA. This is an estate stamp...
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The Poet's Son Billie 1898
Located in Soquel, CA
Late 19th century portrait of a young boy by Arnold Genthe (German, 1869-1942). Signed "Arnold Genthe" lower left. "Billie 11 mo." on verso in the artist...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$3,600
Chalet Costi, Zermatt, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Chalet Costi, Zermatt, Estate Edition, Winter Landscape Photograph This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers outside the Ch...
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All Aboard, Monaco, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a group of Friends boarding a riva boat in Monte Carlo, Monaco. This is an estate stamped...
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Ursula Andress, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1955: Swiss film star Ursula Andress (left) relaxes with artist Novella Parigini in a hammock in Rome. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Au...
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Pop And Society, Ireland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features, from left to right; singer Marianne Faithfull, the Honorable Desmond Guinness and Mick Jagger (of ...
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A Friendly Chat, Estate Edition, Bahamas
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A man wearing diving equipment talks with a girl in a wicker chair on the beach, Bahamas, 1967 Visual Description: A woman seated in a wicker chair i...
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$3,000
Beach Near Portinatx, Ibiza, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1980s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers at a beach near Portinatx, Ibiza, Spain. This is an estate stamped and han...
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Fan Mail, Beverly Hills, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out h...
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On Board The Palawan, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1990s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Olive Watson (left) taking her friends out sailing off the coast of Maine on her yacht, P...
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Fan Mail (Marilyn Monroe in Red), Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), wearing a red negligee trimmed with black lace, sorts out her fan mail shortly after her film 'The Asphalt Jungle' had been released. This exquisite p...
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Iconic Aarons Estate Photograph of Surrealist Salvador Dali: 'Take It'
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
September 1970: With some of his mystical artwork at Port Ligat, Costa Brava, painter Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) in a characteristic pose with his trademark walking-stick in vibrant purple dress. In the background, the magical, mysterious, artistic and alchemical mix, with white and sepia-toned curtains and classic photographs on display. The vintage and classic mingles with the bizarre and strange in this historic photograph of an avant-garde legend. Salvador Dali: Take It, 1970 Slim Aarons Estate Edition Photograph Lambda Print Estate Embossed with 2 Certificates of Authenticity Printed Later 4 sizes available Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí de Púbol gcYC (/ˈdɑːli, dɑːˈliː/;[1] Catalan: [səlβəˈðo ðəˈli]; Spanish: [salβaˈðoɾ ðaˈli];[2] 11 May 1904 – 23 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work. Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments. Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. 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. 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 Slim Aarons, Vintage Salvador...
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Joan Collins Relaxes, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed. Slim Aarons Joan Collins Relaxes, Estate Edition Chromogenic Lambda print 1955, Printed Later Slim Aarons Estate...
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Marsha Gayle, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Marsha Gayle (in red stripes) and a friend relax on a deserted beach near Calabash Bay, An...
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$1,800
Rockefeller Brothers, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This 1980 portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Rockefeller brothers in their Radio City, New York office. Left to right, Laurance (1910 - 2...
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