Slim Aarons Photography
American, 1916-2006
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.
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Artist: Slim Aarons
Caprice On Capri, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1958: Singer and actress Caprice Chantal (right) on the Italian island of Capri.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aa...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Hotel Excelsior, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The beach front of the luxurious Excelsior Hotel on the Venice Lido, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons ...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Crespi Family Members, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Left to right: Brando Crespi and daughter Chloe, with his sister Pilar Crespi Echavarria and her son Sebastian, at Monte Argentario Polo Club, Porto Ercole, Tuscany, Italy, September...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Crespi Family Members, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Left to right: Brando Crespi and daughter Chloe, with his sister Pilar Crespi Echavarria and her son Sebastian, at Monte Argentario Polo Club, Porto Ercole, Tuscany, Italy, September...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Laudomia Pucci, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Italian fashion designer and daughter of Emilio Pucci, Laudomia Pucci, Florence, Italy, 1983.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped ...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Funk In Tuscany, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Italian fashion designer, model and socialite, Marta Marzotto (1931 - 2016), playing a James Brown album on an Italian Brionvega Radiofonograph RR126 stereo system, Porto Ercole, Tus...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Sugarbush Skiing, Slim Aarons - Portrait Photography, Landscape Photography
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
For a limited time only these Slim Aarons prints are available to purchase at 15% discount. Please contact the gallery for any queries.
Please bear in mind that all prints are produ...
Category
20th Century American Modern Slim Aarons Photography
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Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
On the Slopes of Sugarbush, Slim Aarons - Landscape Photography, Portrait
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
For a limited time only these Slim Aarons prints are available to purchase at 15% discount. Please contact the gallery for any queries.
Please bear in mind that all prints are produ...
Category
20th Century American Modern Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Zermatt Skiing, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skiers in Zermatt, Switzerland, March 1968.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector will receive t...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Caprice On Capri, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1958: Singer and actress Caprice Chantal (right) on the Italian island of Capri.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aa...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Monte Carlo Swimwear, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman in a black cutaway swimsuit and turquoise scarf under a red, fringed umbrella in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in August 1970.
In this classic Slim Aarons scene of 1970's vintage seaside glamour, a red umbrella with white fringe adds movement at the top right corner, and the subject's arms direct the viewer's eye across the picture in a zig-zag fashion. In the background, yellow and green umbrellas shade...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Franco Zeffirelli, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1985, Film director Franco Zeffirelli at his home, Tre Ville, in Positano, Italy.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lucy Hamilton, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Princess Lucy Ruspoli in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, 1982.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector w...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Barone Bettino Ricasoli, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Winemaker Barone Bettino Ricasoli poses holding up a wine glass beside a table, on which stands three bottles of wine and a basket of grapes, in a vineyard in Siena, Italy, 1983. The...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Armando Orsini, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Armando Orsini, a New York restaurateur, poses in a Tuscan olive grove, with a table displaying dishes of olives and a bottle of olive oil, Italy, in August 1975...
Category
1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Boats in the harbour of Porto Ercole (Port'Ercole), Tuscany, August 1967.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and ...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Boats in the harbour of Porto Ercole (Port'Ercole), Tuscany, August 1967.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and ...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Porto Ercole, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Boats in the harbour of Porto Ercole (Port'Ercole), Tuscany, August 1967.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons E...
Category
1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Windsors In Portofino, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor walking their dog in Portofino. Picture Post - 5599 - Portofino - unpub.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered a...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Yachting Trip, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Selvaggia Borromeo wades ashore from her yacht during a holiday on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, August 1967.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Num...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Montecatini, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Marie-Louise Scio at the Tettuccio Terme in Montecatini, Italy, June 1980.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons ...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Waiting in the Shade, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman shelters under a parasol on a beach on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, 1967.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim...
Category
1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Caprice On Capri, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1958: Singer and actress Caprice Chantal (right) on the Italian island of Capri.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aa...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Poolside Bar, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests seen from a poolside bar at the Hotel Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole, Italy, August 1980.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped ...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Hotel Excelsior, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The beach front of the luxurious Excelsior Hotel on the Venice Lido, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons ...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
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 ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
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...
Category
1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
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...
Category
1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Holiday In Capri, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Carla Vuccino and Bianca Volpato holiday with their friends on Capri, Italy, July 1958.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Crespi Family Members, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Left to right: Brando Crespi and daughter Chloe, with his sister Pilar Crespi Echavarria and her son Sebastian, at Monte Argentario Polo Club, Porto Ercole, Tuscany, Italy, September...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Lucy Hamilton, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Princess Lucy Ruspoli in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, 1982.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector w...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Armando Orsini, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Armando Orsini, a New York restaurateur, poses in a Tuscan olive grove, with a table displaying dishes of olives and a bottle of olive oil, Italy, in August 1975...
Category
1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Venice Gondolier, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Premium Rates Apply. A gondolier on the Grand Canal in Venice, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Pool at Las Hadas, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Guests round the pool at Las Hadas, Manzanillo, Mexico, 1974.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collec...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Massimo Family, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1960, Prince and Princess Massimo with five of their six children in their residence, Palazzo Massimo all Colonne, Rome, Italy.
Slim Aarons Estate Ed...
Category
1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Funk In Tuscany, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Italian fashion designer, model and socialite, Marta Marzotto (1931 - 2016), playing a James Brown album on an Italian Brionvega Radiofonograph RR126 stereo system, Porto Ercole, Tus...
Category
1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
Materials
Lambda
Nice Pool, Estate Edition, Villa Artemis, Palm Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Step into the world of casual elegance and midcentury glamour with Slim Aarons' evocative photograph, "Nice Pool" This image offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the opulent life of Ame...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Lucy Hamilton, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Princess Lucy Ruspoli in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, 1982.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collector w...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Ursula Pacelli, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ursula Pacelli poses at the Venice Lido, Venice, Italy, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collect...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Massimo Family, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1960, Prince and Princess Massimo with five of their six children in their residence, Palazzo Massimo all Colonne, Rome, Italy.
Slim Aarons Estate Ed...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Venice Gondolier, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Premium Rates Apply. A gondolier on the Grand Canal in Venice, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Natale Rusconi, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
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 ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Natale Rusconi, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
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 ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Unghia Marina, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A group of people stand on a terrace, at the Unghia Marina on the island of Capri, Italy, in September 1989. Trees dot the side of the marina while a flagpole rises up from the edge ...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Waiting in the Shade, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A woman shelters under a parasol on a beach on the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, 1967.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim...
Category
1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Barone Bettino Ricasoli, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Winemaker Barone Bettino Ricasoli poses holding up a wine glass beside a table, on which stands three bottles of wine and a basket of grapes, in a vineyard in Siena, Italy, 1983. The...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Private Stage, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1960: Countess Anna Laetitia Pecci-Blunt (1885 - 1971) sits on the stage of her own private theatre in Rome.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbere...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Private Stage, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1960: Countess Anna Laetitia Pecci-Blunt (1885 - 1971) sits on the stage of her own private theatre in Rome.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbere...
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Droulers And Daughters, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Roberta Droulers sitting with her daughters, Nathalie and Virginie, in the lobby of the Villa D'Este on Lake Como, Cernobbio, Italy, circa 1984.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certifi...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Maccioni By His Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Restaurateur Sirio Maccioni at his villa in Montecatini, Italy, July 1991.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons ...
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1990s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Between the Sea and Sky, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ingrid Morath sunbathes by a swimming pool next to the sea in Acapulco, 1961. Ingrid was born in Rio de Janeiro and lives in Mexico City.
Portofino Villa
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Between the Sea and Sky, Slim Aarons Estate Edition photograph
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ingrid Morath sunbathes by a swimming pool next to the sea in Acapulco, 1961. Ingrid was born in Rio de Janeiro and lives in Mexico City.
Portofino Villa
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
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1960s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Venice Gondolier, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Premium Rates Apply. A gondolier on the Grand Canal in Venice, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Ursula Pacelli, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ursula Pacelli poses at the Venice Lido, Venice, Italy, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collect...
Category
1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Ursula Pacelli, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ursula Pacelli poses at the Venice Lido, Venice, Italy, 1957.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate
Collect...
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1950s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Belvedere Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The swimming pool at the Hotel Belvedere, Amalfi, Italy, August 1984.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estat...
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1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Belvedere Pool, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The swimming pool at the Hotel Belvedere, Amalfi, Italy, August 1984.
Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estat...
Category
1980s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Lambda
Natale Rusconi, Estate Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
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 ...
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1970s Realist Slim Aarons Photography
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Slim Aarons photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Slim Aarons photography available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of photography to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, purple, pink and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Slim Aarons in digital print, lambda print, laser print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Slim Aarons photography, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Mark Shaw, Joel Meyerowitz, and Rainer Schlegelmilch. Slim Aarons photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,720 and tops out at $14,000, while the average work can sell for $2,500.