Slim Aarons
Slim Aarons 'Beach Backgammon' Mid-century Modern Photography
1960

Name: Slim Aarons 'Beach Backgammon' Mid-century Modern Photography
Brand: Slim Aarons
Price: 2150 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Beach Backgammon 1957 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. CAPTION: Backgammon on the beach at the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido, Italy, 1957. Slim Aarons, an acclaimed fine art photographer, is synonymous with images that capture the luxury, glamour, and jet-set lifestyle of the mid-20th century. Renowned for his candid portraits of celebrities, socialites, and the global elite, Aarons' work celebrates vintage elegance and opulent leisure, as epitomized in his iconic "Poolside Gossip" series. Granted exclusive access to the world's most elite gatherings, he wove tales of extravagance, often juxtaposed against mesmerizing modernist architecture. His photography, reminiscent of the distinct styles of contemporaries like Horst P. Horst, Helmut Newton, and Bert Stern, has been showcased in esteemed institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Getty Images Gallery, and IFAC Arts. Slim Aarons (1916-2006) primarily worked for society publications, capturing "attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places." He photographed the rich and famous both before and after his tenure as a photographer for the US military magazine, Yank, during World War II. His work has been featured in publications like Town and Country, Holiday, Venture, and LIFE. He's perhaps most renowned for his photograph "Poolside Glamour." Though closely aligned with Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Aarons chose not to join them in founding Magnum. Instead, he transitioned from black and white photography, immersing himself in a world of sun-drenched glamour and light-heartedness. His intimate portrayals of the elite and the jet set brim with the wit and charisma that granted Aarons unparalleled access to high society IFAC Arts, in collaboration with the Getty Images Hulton Archive, presents Slim Aarons' vast collection of negatives and transparencies. This collection spans six decades, showcasing a lifestyle many dream of but few experience. Expert darkroom work on the original negatives and transparencies allows for prints of his images in the largest photographic sizes, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in these dazzling depictions of the good life. The entire Slim Aarons Collection and More at IFAC Arts. Please follow us on 1stdibs @ifacarts

Creator:

Slim Aarons (1916-2006, American)

Creation Year:

1960

Dimensions:

Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)

More Editions & Sizes:

12 x 12 inches Price: $1,80016 x 16 inchesPrice: $2,15020 x 20 inches Price: $2,50040 x 40 inchesPrice: $3,950

Medium:

Lambda

Movement & Style:

Modern

Period:

1960-1969

Condition:

Gallery Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

Seller: #slimaarons @ifacarts1stDibs: LU32614441412

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Slim Aarons

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.