Slim Aarons

Works
Biography

Slim Aarons was an American photographer whose most popular image, Poolside Gossip, epitomises the glamour, charisma, and celebrity that he sought to capture in his work. “Attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places,” Aarons famously once said to describe his practice. 

 

Born in New York, NY, he served as a military photographer before turning to print journalism after the war. Aarons’ photographs offer a glimpse into the lives of the American jet-set capturing the rich and beautiful in palatial Malibu mansions, at society events, on ski slopes and on lush European beaches. His oeuvre evokes the glamour and grace of midcentury America, letting the natural beauty of his subjects become his focal point. 

 

He won the trust of celebrities and captured the likes of Gary Cooper, Mick Jagger, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in private moments. Aarons won the trust of those he photographed, and in turn, was allowed to shoot some of the most intimate and candid portraiture of the 20th century. 

 

His body of work represents an essential and iconic time-capsule of a bygone era. He died May 29, 2006 in Montrose, NY at the age of 89.