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.
Majorelle Garden, Marrakesh, Morocco - Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Majorelle Garden, Marrakesh is a Limited Edition Estate Stamped Digital C-Type Print by 20th Century American Photographer Slim Aarons. 16" x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamp...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
$6,100
Slim Aarons Dining Al Fresco Supersize Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Dining Al Fresco Capri 1980 by Slim Aarons Italian artist and actress Domiziana Giordano, Italian author Francesca Sanvitale (1928 - 2011), Dino Trappetti and Umberto Terrelli dinin...
C Print
Slim Aarons 'Andros Island' Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Andros Island by Slim Aarons Friends prepare for a day snorkelling by Andros Island, Bahamas, 1957. (Photo by Slim Aarons) Limited edition estate stamped print 30 x 30" inches / 76...
Archival Pigment
'Snorkelling In The Shallows' Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Snorkelling In The Shallows by Slim Aarons A group of people snorkelling off a small boat in Malta, 1959. (Photo by Slim Aarons) Limited edition estate stamped print 24 x 20" inche...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'The Lure Of Lamu' Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
The Lure Of Lamu by Slim Aarons The resort of Kiwayu Mlango wa Chanu in the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya, February 1987. The resort is run by Governors’ Camp of the Masai Mara. (Photo ...
Archival Pigment
$2,400
Taormina, Sicily, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the coastal town of Taormina in Sicily, Italy. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition o...
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Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers in a motorboat off the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera. This is ...
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$4,200
Saint-Tropez, France, 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 two young women, one wearing a kaftan, stepping onto a yacht on the waterfront at Saint-Tropez, Franc...
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Hotel Du Palais Biarritz, France, 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 the curved beachside pool at the Hotel du Palais Biarritz, Biarritz, France. This is an estate-stamped...
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Sunbathing in Venice, 1954 - Venetian Nude Sunbathing in Vintage Italian Fashion
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Sunbathing in Venice, 1954 - Venetian Sunbathing in Vintage Italian Fashion by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. A...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
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 t...
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Chateau Saint-Martin, France, 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 an outdoor luncheon by the swimming pool of the Chateau Saint-Martin, a luxury hotel in Vence on the Co...
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$1,800
Cannes Watersports, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1950s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers waterskiing from the pier of the Carlton Hotel, Cannes. This is an estate-stamped an...
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Capri Holiday, 1958 - Snorkelling off Coast of Capri Island in Crystal Waters
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Capri Holiday, 1958 - Snorkelling off Coast of Capri Island in Crystal Waters by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'C...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Palm Springs Riders, 1970 - Desert Landscapes in Southern California Hills
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Palm Springs Riders, 1970 - Desert Landscapes in Southern California Hills 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Digital C-Type print. Edition of 150. Printed Later....
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Sunbathing Antibes, 1976 - Hotel du Cap Eden Roc French Riviera Nude
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Sunbathing Antibes, 1976 - Hotel du Cap Eden Roc French Riviera Nude by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Sunbathin...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Poolside Party - Limited Slim Aarons Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim Aarons Estate Limited Edition C print 40 x 30 inches / 101 x 76 cm unframed. ' Poolside Party ' A poolside party at a desert house, designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar J. K...
C Print, Color
Speedboat Landing Slim Aarons Limited Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Speedboat Landing A Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of the Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, Italy, August 1973. Gorgeous print ...
Color, Archival Pigment
Tennis in The Bahamas, 1957 - Tennis Players Socialise after Tennis Match in Sun
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Tennis in The Bahamas, 1957 - Tennis Players Socialise after Tennis Match in Sun by Slim Aarons 16 x 16" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
$1,800
French Holiday, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers in France in August 1969. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of 150 wi...
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Westin Excelsior, Lido in Venice, 1957 - Venetian Gondolas in Canals in Italy
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Westin Excelsior, Lido in Venice, 1957 - Venetian Gondolas in Canals in Italy by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. We...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Palm Beach Pastels Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Palm Beach Pastels 1959 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Socialite Alice Topping relaxing by a swimming pool in Palm Beach, Florida, 1959. unframed c type pr...
Archival Pigment
Corsica Island Paradise, 1984, Slim Aarons Estate Limited Edition Print ED.150
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
August 1984: Topless swimmers on a rocky promontory of the Mediterranean island of Cavallo, Corsica. Slim Aarons Island Paradise 1984 C print (Printed l...
C Print
Faraglioni Rocks in Capri, 1974 - Capri Island Sorrento Italian Vacation Holiday
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Faraglioni Rocks in Capri, 1974 - Capri Island Sorrento Italian Vacation Holiday by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print....
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Portofino Villa, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late-1970s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests by the pool at Klaus Pudel's villa, the Casa Montefino, overlooking Portofino harbour, Portofin...
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Sunbathing On Capri - Slim Aarons - 20th century colour photography Oversize
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Sunbathing On Capri' by Slim Aarons Huge Oversize 72 x 48 inches / 183 x 122 cm paper size Catherine Wilke joins the topless sunbathers - along with Elisabetta Catalano, Charlotte...
C Print
Sardinian Holiday Slim Aarons Limited Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Sardinian Holiday Selvaggia Borromeo enjoys a yachting holiday on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, 1967. Gorgeous print measuring 40 x 30 inches / ca 101 x 76 cm's. Estate Stamp...
Color, Archival Pigment
The Mason's Estate, Kenya - Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
The Mason's Estate, Kenya is a Limited Edition Estate Stamped Digital C-Type Print by 20th Century American Photographer Slim Aarons. 16" x 16" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Marbella Club Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Marbella Club The swimming pool of the Marbella Club in Andalucia looks out over the sea, 1976 16 × 16 inches - paper size Estate Stamped Collection Edition to 150 Photo by Sl...
Archival Pigment, Color
Poolside Socialites, California, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), Nelda Linsk (in yellow), wife of art de...
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$4,900
Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc -Slim Aarons - colour C print photography - 20th century
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc' by Slim Aarons ESTATE EDITION - numbered and emboss stamped on front. (edition size 150 only) Waterskiing from the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, ...
C Print
'Dinner Jazz' 1949 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Dinner Jazz' 1949: American Jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong (1898 – 1971) enjoys a plate of spaghetti in Rome. 30x30 inches / 76 x 76 cm paper size Estate Stamped Co...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Slim Aarons 'Coming Ashore' 1973 Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Coming Ashore' 1973 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Print A Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of the Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto ...
Color
CZ’s House Beach Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
CZ’s House 1955 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition 1955: Mrs F C Winston Guest (1920 – 2003) (aka Cee Zee Guest) reclines on a garden chair in front of the Grecian ...
Archival Pigment
Snowmass Village, Colorado, 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 women in colourful hats at an apres ski party in Snowmass Village, in Pitkin County, Colorado, in M...
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$1,440Sale Price|20% Off
Dining In Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features holidaymakers at a ski lodge at Gstaad, Switzerland, March 1961. This is an estate stam...
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Fan Mail, 1950 - Marilyn Monroe Silk Lace Gown The Asphalt Jungle Fan Mail
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Fan Mail, 1950 - Marilyn Monroe Silk Lace Gown The Asphalt Jungle Fan Mail by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Pleas...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Sea Drive Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Sea Drive 1967 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Film producer Kevin McClory takes his wife Bobo Sigrist and their family for a drive in an ‘Amphicar’ across the harbour at Nassau....
Archival Pigment
Guests At The Hotel Bel-Air, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1990s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests by the swimming pool on a terrace at the Hotel Bel-Air on Cap Ferrat on the Côte d'Azur, so...
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Lunch at La Pigna, 1980 - Italian Sicilian Portrait Lemon Trees on Capri
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Lunch at La Pigna, 1980 - Italian Sicilian Portrait Lemon Trees on Capri by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Lunch a...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Cafe Terrace In Nice Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Cafe Terrace In Nice 1957 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Holidaymakers on a cafe terrace in Nice on the French Riviera, 1957. unfra...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Jean Serpieri' Official Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Jean Serpieri' Madame Jean Serpieri sits in the ballroom of the Tour La Reine near Athens, wearing a gown that belonged to the wife of Otto, the first king of modern Greece, Decem...
Archival Pigment
Sunbathing in Capri, 1974 - Sunbathers on French Island of Capri Summer Bronzing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Sunbathing in Capri, 1974 - Sunbathers on French Island of Capri Summer Bronzing by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Skiers In St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1963. This is an estate stamped and hand number...
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Slim Aarons 'The High Life' 1977 Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'The High Life' 1977 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Print Actor George Hamilton (in blue) takes off in a speedboat with friends during a stay in St Tropez, August 1977. (Photo ...
C Print, Color
Caleta Beach, Acapulco, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1960s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a couple walking on Caleta Beach holding hands, Acapulco, Mexico, 1968. This is an esta...
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Catch Up by the Pool, California, 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 former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), Nelda Linsk (in yellow), wife of art deale...
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Saint Tropez Beach - Topless Sunbathing Nude Portrait French Riviera Beaches
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Saint Tropez Beach - Topless Sunbathing Nude Portrait French Riviera Beaches by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. E...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Palm Beach Ladies Slim Aarons Limited Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Palm Beach Ladies' 1964 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Print American socialite Wendy Vanderbilt (right) and another woman wearing Lilly Pulitzer ...
Color, Archival Pigment
Carlton Hotel, 1958 - Carlton Hotel Canne French Riviera South of France
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Carlton Hotel, 1958 - Carlton Hotel Canne French Riviera South of France by Slim Aarons 16" x 16" print on 16" x 20" paper. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Pri...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Saint-Tropez Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The beach at Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, August 1971. 30 x 40 inches $3350 20 x 30 inches $3000 20 x 24 inches $2500 10 x 12 inches $1350 Complimentary dealer shipping ...
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Saint-Tropez Beach Estate Edition Photograph, French Riviera
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons' Saint-Tropez Beach, an Estate Edition photograph, is a vintage scene of sunbathers on the French Riviera, August 1971. Colorful coral red an...
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$3,000
Social Call, Mexico, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early-1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Charley Weaver at the Las Brisas resort in Acapulco, Mexico. This is an estate-stamped and hand-n...
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Cortina d'Ampezzo Fashion
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Isa Genolini and Maria Antonia in the main street of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, March 1982. Cortina d'Ampezzo Fashion 1972 c print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 wi...
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Slim Aarons, 'Natale Rusconi' Midcentury Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Natale Rusconi riding a Hotel Cipriani motor launch with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore on San Giorgio Maggiore island beyond, in Venice, Italy, in September 1978. Slim Aarons ...
C Print
Spring Break, 1950s - Bonita Springs Palm Beach Florida Students Spring Break
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Spring Break, 1950s - Bonita Springs Palm Beach Florida Students Spring Break by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
$4,200
Slim Aarons 'Pool By The Sea' 1985 Official Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Pool By The Sea' A swimming pool and lounge deck over the sea at Angra Dos Reis, Brazil, 1985. 40 x 30" inches / 101 x 76 cm paper size Estate Stamped Collection Edition to 1...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Boy Baron' Unframed Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Boy Baron by Slim Aarons 1957: The youngest peer in England, seven year old Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron and 10th Baronet Hesketh, fishing in the lake at his ancestral...
Archival Pigment
$1,800
Palm Beach Idyll, Florida, 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 couple sunbathing by the sea at Palm Beach, Florida. This is an estate stamped and hand ...
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Catch Up by the Pool, California, 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 former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), Nelda Linsk (in yellow), wife of art deale...
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