Slim Aarons (1916 – 2006) is regarded as one of the most influential magazine photographers of his generation. He was raised in New York City and took up photography as a teenager. At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was later appointed official photographer for the Yank magazine in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. After the war he became a freelance photojournalist, and decided he only wanted to photograph “Attractive people, doing attractive things in attractive places. His photographs appeared in many magazines, including Life, Holiday, Town & Country, Look, Adventure and Travel & Leisure, and in his first book, A Wonderful Time (1974).

Slim rubbed shoulders with Royalty from around the world including Princess Grace and her daughter Princess Caroline. At one point Princess Grace had even suggested that Caroline go and work with Slim, but when Slim explained she’d need to be up early every morning, Caroline soon changed her mind!

Slim was very well known in the U.S., and in famous circles and there are hundreds of similar such stories. Artist Wendy Vanderbilt Lehman who knew Slim since she was a child described Slim as “fun, funny and fatherly. He always arrived in a celebratory mood that made me feel that all was right in the world. “

Slim photographed many of the rich and famous, some of the more notable celebrities include Marilyn Monroe, Tza Tza Gabor, Julie London, Joan Collins, Audrey Hepburn and Mick Jagger. 

Arguably his most famous photographs were taken at the Kaufman House in Palm Springs and include Angie & Tamara’s favorites “Poolside Gossip” and “Desert Party” (which we have hanging in our own homes).

Getty Images is home to the archive of Slim Aarons historic photography and proudly represents his archive. All of the Slim Aaron photos we sell on our website are printed off the original negatives from Getty Images in the U.K. and are distributed by Australian licensee Corporate Art.  

Click here to view a range of Slim Aarons Photos