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.
Slim Aarons - Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc - Riva Boats - Estate Edition
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
Ariel Pool, Miami - Fontainebleau Hotel Miami Florida Coastline Swimming Pool
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Ariel Pool, Miami - Fontainebleau Hotel Miami Florida Coastline Swimming Pool by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. "A...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
$2,400
Bahamas Speed Week, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This early 1960s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of 150 with...
Lambda
Mustique Hammock - Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print, C-Type
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Mustique Hammock by Slim Aarons 16" x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'Mustique Hammock' is a Limited Edition Estate Stamped Digita...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Abaco Islander 1986 Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Abaco Islander, 1986 Author Chester Thompson at work in his coconut grove on the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, March 1986. His ancester Wyannie Malone settled on the islands in 178...
Archival Pigment
Vuccino And Rava 1958 - Slim Aarons Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Vuccino And Rava 1958 - Slim Aarons Estate Edition Carla Vuccino, wearing a swimming cap, and a sunbathing Marina Rava, both wearing bikinis as they sit on the rear of a boat, on th...
Archival Pigment
Poolside Loungers, 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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Cortina D'Ampezzo, Ski Lift, 1960
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
A skier using the ski lifts at Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, 1962. Cortina D'Ampezzo 1962 C print (Printed later) Estate signature stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certifi...
C Print
'Beverly Hills Hotel' (1952) Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Beverly Hills Hotel (1952) Limited Edition Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) Beverly Hills Hotel Los Angeles 1952 Additional Information: Unframed Paper Size: 20x20'' Imag...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Catherine Wilke - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Catherine Wilke - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Catherine Wilke joins the topless sunbathers on the island of Capri. (Photo by Slim Aarons) 20 x 16" inches / 61 x 51 cm paper size E...
Archival Pigment
Waterfall at Rose Hall, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman combing her hair by a waterfall at Rose Hall, Jamaica, December 1971. Visual description: A tanned white woman smiles and combs her long brown hair by a waterfall at Rose H...
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Slim Aarons Official Estate Print - Plantation Cocoyer
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Plantation Cocoyer People relaxing in the bar at Plantation Cocoyer, Cocoyer Beach, Haiti, February 1981. 60 x 40" inches / 152 x 101 cm paper size Estate Stamped Collection Edi...
Archival Pigment
Speedboat Landing - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Speedboat Landing - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped August 1973:A Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of the Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Er...
Archival Pigment
Motorboats in Antibes, 1969 - Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Type Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Motorboats in Antibes, 1969 by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'Motorboats in Antibes' is a Limited Edition Estate ...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Slim Aarons 'Capri Tan' (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1968, A kneeling sunbather shows off her rings and pendant on a beach in Capri, Italy. Slim Aarons Capri Tan Hotel Punta Tragara, Capri, Italy C...
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Slim Aarons, "Sunbathing in Arizona" (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman sunbathing nude by Tom Darlington's pool in Carefree, Arizona, April 1967. Slim Aarons Sunbathing in Arizona Lambda Print More sizes available Slim Aarons Estate Edition 4...
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Conca dei Marini, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1980s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features a quiet bay in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi coast in Italy. This is an estate-stamped and hand-n...
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New England Skiing Essentials (1955) Limited Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
New England Skiing Essentials (1955) Limited Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) A couple prepare for a day’s skiing in New Hampshire, 1955. Additional Information: Unframe...
Black and White, Archival Pigment
Hello There, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1950s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features film star Diana Dors (Diana Fluck) (1931 - 1984) in blonde bombshell pose on a satin-covered bed. T...
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Slim Aarons Official Estate Print - Leisure In Antibes
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Leisure In Antibes A woman sunbathing in a motorboat as it tows a waterskier, in the sea off the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera, August 1969. 60 x 40" inche...
Archival Pigment
New England Skiing, New Hampshire, 1955 - Winter Fashion in Snowy Landscape
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
New England Skiing, New Hampshire, 1955 - Winter Fashion in Snowy Landscape by Slim Aarons 16" x 16" image on 16" x 20" paper. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. ...
C Print, Color, Photographic Paper, Digital
Skiing At St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features skiers on a slope in St Moritz, Switzerland, March 1978. This is an estate stamped and h...
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Kings Of Hollywood Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Kings Of Hollywood 1957 by Slim Aarons printed 2023 Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Clark Gable (1901 – 1960), Van Heflin (1910 – 1971), Gary Cooper (1901 – 1961) and James St...
Silver Gelatin
Slim Aarons 'Port Life'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Port Life 1977 C-Print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. A man stops to watch a ...
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Nelda And Friends, 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 ladies by the pool at the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, California, January 1970. From ri...
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Il Pellicano Tennis, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An Aston Martin DB6 sports car driving past the tennis courts at Il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 1973. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, C...
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Holidaymakers in Bermuda - Natural Sandy Cove on Beach in Bermuda Island
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
On the Beach in Bermuda - Natural Sandy Cove on Beach in Bermuda Island by Slim Aarons 16" x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later "On the ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Palm Beach Christmas Holiday - Mid-century Modern Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Palm Beach Idyll 1963 C-Print Estate signature stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. A couple sunbathing by the sea at Palm B...
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Saint Tropez Boucherie, August 1971 - Nude Women Portrait French Riviera Fashion
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Saint Tropez Boucherie, August 1971 - Nude Women Portrait French Riviera Fashion by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Il Pellicano Tennis Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Il Pellicano Tennis 1973 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition An Aston Martin DB6 sports car driving past the tennis courts at Il P...
Archival Pigment
'Hotel Du Cap Eden-Roc' Antibes (Estate Stamped Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Hotel Du Cap Eden-Roc' (Estate Stamped Edition) *Super Oversize* print measuring a huge 72 x 48 inches Guests relax by the pool at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Antibes, France, Au...
Archival Pigment
Sunbathing in Capri, Catherine Wilke, 1980
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Sunbathing in Capri, Catherine Wilke 1980 Chromogenic Lambda print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Catherine Wilke...
Lambda
Pool At Las Hadas 1974 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Pool At Las Hadas 1974 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Guests round the pool at Las Hadas, Manzanillo, Mexico, 1974. 48 x 72" inches / 122 x 183 cm pa...
Archival Pigment
$1,800
Porto Ercole, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1960s photograph, taken by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the waterfront at Porto Ercole, Italy. This is an estate-stamped and hand-numbered edition of 150 with...
Lambda
Slim Aarons, Capri Bay
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Faraglioni Rocks on the Italian island of Capri, 1958. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Slim Aarons (1916-2006) ...
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Monte Carlo, Monaco, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s landscape photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features friends boarding a riva boat in Monte Carlo, Monaco, This is an estate stamped and hand n...
Lambda
$3,000
Tres Vidas, Acapulco, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This mid-1970s photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features guests enjoying cocktails at the pool bar of the Tres Vidas private members club in Acapulco, Mexico...
C Print
Slim Aarons 'Towboat At Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc' 1969 Limited Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
'Towboat At Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc' A motorboat used to tow waterskiers, moored at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera, August 1969. 40 x 30" inches / 101 x 7...
Archival Pigment
Quiet Afternoon 1980 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Quiet Afternoon 1980 - Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Brigitte Lapp Fonda reclines amidst the foliage in Marbella, circa 1980. 16 x 16" inches / 41 x 41 cm paper size Estate Stamped ...
Archival Pigment
Bettina Graziani Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Bettina Graziani French fashion model Bettina Graziani wading in the shallow waters of Costa Smeralda, pulling a small yacht behind her, in Sardinia, Italy, 1964. 20 x 20" - pape...
Archival Pigment, Color
Il Pellicano Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Il Pellicano Beach, 1973 Chromogenic Lambda print A jetty juts out from the rocky shoreline at the Hotel Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, August 19...
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Slim Aarons 'Saint Kitts And Nevis'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Saint Kitts and Nevis 1984 (printed later) C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Horseback riding ...
Lambda
Eye of the Beholder, 1974 - Bronze Bathing Beauties Suntanning on French Riviera
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Eye of the Beholder, 1974 - Bronze Bathing Beauties Suntanning on French Riviera by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
The Marlboroughs (1957) Limited Estate Stamped
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
The Marlboroughs (1957) Limited Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) John Albert Edward Spencer Churchill, the 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897 – 1972) and his wife Mary relax on...
Color, Archival Pigment
Seaplane At Palm Beach (1955) Limited Estate Stamped - Giant
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Seaplane At Palm Beach (1955) Limited Estate Stamped (Photo By Slim Aarons) Patsy Pulitzer (nee Patsy Bartlett) leaning against a seaplane belonging to the Everglades Flying Serv...
Black and White, Archival Pigment
Dining Al Fresco On Capri, Italy, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Italian artist and actress Domiziana Giordano, Italian author Francesca Sanvitale (1928 - 2011), Dino Trappetti and Umberto Terrelli dining al fresco ...
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Anna Maria Alberghetti, 1959 - Italian Fishing in Natural Waters of Lake Tahoe
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Anna Maria Alberghetti, 1959 - Italian Fishing in Natural Waters of Lake Tahoe by Slim Aarons This is a 16" x 16" print on 16" x 20" paper. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edi...
C Print, Digital, Photographic Paper, Color
Waterfall at Rose Hall, Estate Edition, Jamaica
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman combing her hair by a waterfall at Rose Hall, Jamaica, December 1971. Visual description: A tanned white woman smiles and combs her long brown hair by a waterfall at Rose H...
Lambda
Rhode Island Surfers Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Rhode Island Surfers 1965 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Surfers off Rhode Island, September 1965. unframed c type print printed 2023 20 x 24" - paper size L...
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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La Concha Beach Club Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
La Concha Beach Club 1975 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Bathers at La Concha Beach Club, Acapulco, Mexico, February 1975. unframed c type print printed 2023 2...
Archival Pigment
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
Catch Up By The Pool Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Catch Up By The Pool 1970 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition Former fashion model Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur (in white lace), Nelda Linsk (in yellow), wife of art dealer ...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons Estate Edition - Harbour Island
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Harbour Island in the Bahamas, 1970 Gorgeous print measuring 20 x 24" inches / ca 50.8 x 60.9 cm’s paper size. Estate Stamped Collection Edition to 150 Photo by Slim Aarons Pr...
Archival Pigment
Piazza Roma, Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1962 - Skyline of Mountains in Italian Alps
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Piazza Roma, Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1962 - Skyline of Mountains in Italian Alps by Slim Aarons 16" x 16" print on 16" x 20" paper. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Cavallo Coast - View of Yachts in Turquoise Waters between Corsica and Sardinia
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Cavallo Coast - View of Yachts in Turquoise Waters between Corsica and Sardinia by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Faraglioni Rocks, Capri (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Faraglioni Rocks, Capri, 1974 Chromogenic Lambda print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Faraglioni Rock...
Lambda
Snowmass Village - Apres Ski Lunch Picnic at Snowmass in Aspen Colorado
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Snowmass Village - Apres Ski Lunch Picnic at Snowmass in Aspen Colorado by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. "Snowmas...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Coming Ashore Slim Aarons Estate Stamped Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Coming Ashore 1973 by Slim Aarons Slim Aarons Limited Estate Edition A Magnum motorboat belonging to Count Filippo Theodoli arrives at the private jetty of the Il Pellicano Hotel ...
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons, Harbour Island (Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Harbour Island, 1970 Chromogenic Lambda Print Estate edition of 150 Harbour Island in the Bahamas, 1970 Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 15...
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