Slim Aarons Photography Books - A Bygone Era of Luxury, Power and Beauty

Art history is filled with society portraiture. The trajectory goes back to the renaissance portraits of rulers and merchants depicted in their stately attire, over Goya’s critique-laden representations of the ruling class, to modern and contemporary portrayals of society.

Among the representatives of the genre, Slim Aarons‘ practice stands out with intimate depictions of privilege. Slim Aarons’ books give us a closer look at his body of work and the iconic images he captured over the decades.

Aarons’ approach included careful staging, but not in the sense of today’s magazine images. He captured subjects as they were, with no makeup or wardrobe adjustments, but positioned in carefully framed environments. Instead of following fashion, his photos made it.

I didn’t do fashion. I did the people in their clothes that became the fashion.

Slim Aaron’s photos capture the luxurious lives of the American elite in the post-war decades. From the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, jet-set American women and man smile at us, enjoy exclusive spots, travel around Europe, and show their glamorous styles. Palm Springs palatal mansions nestled in front of perfectly mown, crispy green lawns glister white against the clear blue sky. Their inhabitants enjoy poolside, lounge in plush gardens, and sip exotic cocktails.

Slim Aarons’ frames also captured cultural icons of the period, such as Grace Kelly, Marylin Monroe, the Kennedys, and Humphrey Bogart. He followed his subjects on their travels to the Côte d’Azur and Gstaad but was also allowed to observe them in privacy of the closed communities of Southampton and other luxury enclaves. 

Born in 1916 in New York, Slim Aaron started as a war photographer during World War II. His intuitive approach to action framing translated into his later photos. However, he firmly decided to focus on “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places” after seeing the horrors of war, as his books testify.

His works appeared on the pages of the leading magazines of mid-century America, such as Holiday Magazine, Vogue, Town & Country, Life, and Harper’s Bazaar. Aarons’ photographs have been exhibited in all the major art centers worldwide, including Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and New York. The Hulton Archive at Getty Images bought Aarons’ archive in 1997. He died in 2006, at the age of 89.

To enjoy some of his extraordinary images, we collected a list of Slim Aarons books, where each page transfers us to the bygone era of luxury and natural beauty the artist tirelessly captured. The hardcover books are available from all major bookstores.

Featured image: Paul Butler with family playing polo in Palm Beach by Slim Aarons, via Creative Commons.

A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life

The first book on the list, A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life, is a 190-page overview of Aarons’ post-war photos. The selection is made from the works taken during his assignments with various magazines. Some of them were not published in his books before.

The world in An Intimate Portrait shows the American elite from coast to coast and during luxurious vacations in the Caribbean, Acapulco, and Bermuda. The images are accompanied by Aaron’s narrative of his experiences and impressions.

Featured image: The cover page of Slim Aarons book A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life, via Pinterest. 

La Dolce Vita, 2012

One of the locations Slim Aarons immortalized in his photos is Italy and its Sicilian countryside. In La Dolce Vita, he revisits the country he traveled through during World War II as a combat photographer.

Instead of images of devastation and war destruction, Aarons here focuses his lens on portraits of high society, celebrities such as Ursula Andress, Marcello Mastroianni, Tyrone Power, Joan Fontaine, and magnificent villas.

The book is forwarded by Christopher Sweet, who shares stories about Aarons life in Italy – he returned to the country almost every year – and lends new insights into the photographer’s life and career.

Featured image: The cover of La Dolce Vita, via amazon.com.

Once Upon a Time

The book is much of a fairytale journey as its title suggests. The book, until recently out of print, was selling as a collectors’ item for more than $1,000 a copy. A 250 full-color photographs edition features some of the most iconic photos of Hollywood stars, statesmen, high society elite, and European aristocracy.

The book takes us on a journey across decades – from the 1950s to 1970s – and meridians. It captures its subjects in glamorous settings and opulent landscapes, a genre described as environmental portrait.

Going back in history to evaluate Aaron’s collection of photos, we can say that his new way of photography, showing young and beautiful people, Hollywood stars, and the new elite, set him aside from other influential photographers of his time. The reviews of his work emphasized the exquisite details in representing home and holiday locations, based on patient and careful observation. Today, Aaron’s collections still amaze with beautiful and extraordinary settings. 

Featured image: The cover of Once Upon a Time book by Slim Aarons, via amazon.com

A Place in the Sun

Another of the Slim Arrons’ captivating looks at the world of rich and privileged is collected in A Place in the Sun book, a sequel to his previous book. Establishing further the genre of environmental portrait, Aaron photographs the elite in their natural surroundings.

The sky is always bright and beaming in his 250 stunning pictures that bring us closer to high society. We see Tina Onassis with children, the first wife of Aristotle Onassis, Sardinian resort of the Aga Khan, and Truman Capote in the exclusive resort of Palm Springs.

Featured image: The cover of A Place in the Sun, via abebooks.com

Poolside With Slim Aarons

While the jet set world is the main topic of Slim Aarons photography, the Poolside With Slim Aarons book takes a pool at its centerpiece, around which rich and famous personalities gravitate. Everything else, the tanned well-oiled bodies of beautiful women and man, bikinis, cocktails, and yachts, are just props in the utopian images of the past periods.

The introduction by William Norwich captures perfectly the essence of Slim Aarons’ life and work – “the photo laureate of the upper classes” brings us a “jet set utopianism.” Among his influential hardcover books,the Poolside with Slim Aarons stands out for its imagery of by-the-pool leisure. 

Featured image: The cover of Poolside With Slim Aarons, hardcover book via amazon books, amazon.com

Women

Slim Aarons’ Women exclusively focuses on women Aarons encountered and photographed during his career. Among the famous faces are Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland, and Jackie Kennedy, but the book also includes a throng of other women who appear in his photographs. Among photographers of his time, Aaron with his collection stands out in presenting famed individuals, including their lifestyles. 

The reflections of the author Laura Hawk, who worked with Aarons for over a decade, are also included in the book. She gives us a glimpse into the photographer’s character and work ethics.

The famous photographer was upbeat, content, with a boyish grin, and would just shrug his shoulders when reminded of his success. “I’m just a guy with a Brownie” – was his simple reply.