If you’ve ever popped into our gallery or perused our collection online, you will have come upon the iconic work of Slim Aarons. His fashion and lifestyle photography, capturing the life of the who’s-who of American society in the 60s and 70s, is characterised by glamorous folk sunning themselves in enviable locations around the world, everywhere from Chamonix to Brazil.
Today, we’re excited to announce that 12 previously unseen Slim Aarons photographs are now available at Enter Gallery. In today’s blog, we’re providing a little background on some of the images...
The Style Collection
The dozen new Slim Aarons’ images hail from the first decade of the photographer’s career back in the 1950s, which immediately followed his stint as a photographer in the Second World War.
The images are being released in conjunction with Slim Aarons: Style – a beautiful monograph coffee table book, showcasing the photographer’s eye for glamour, and his knack for capturing (in his own words): ‘attractive people, in attractive places, doing attractive things.’
The book is written and edited by Getty Images Gallery Curator, Shawn Waldron, and Fashion Editor, Kate Betts. Over the course of 240-pages, the pair dive in to what made Aarons’ work so iconic and why it still endures to this day.
Monochrome magic
Unlike Aarons’ usual work, all but one of the 12 photographs included in the collection are black and white images. While his typical rich blues, powder pinks, and canary yellows are nowhere to be seen – Aarons’ black and white shots still capture the essence of effortlessly cool models, actors and socialites in both rest and play.
Exemplifying living with style
To give you a glimpse into what to expect from the 12 images, here is a little summary of some of our favourites.
This piece is a prime example of Aarons getting access to some of the most esteemed figures in society. Here he captures Fashion Editor turned social hostess, Florence Pritchett Smith, in Palm Beach in 1950. Smith’s husband, Earl E.T Smith was the US ambassador to Cuba during the revolution, and went on to become mayor of Palm Beach. The couple were known as ‘the resort’s most photographed couple’.
This stylish image captures Swedish model, Inga Lindgren, in 1956 posing on New York’s Park Avenue, with her two pet poodles, Ajax and Whacky. Lindgren was one of two models who went on to help Eileen Ford launch her revolutionary model agency, Ford Models – famous for solidifying the supermodel era of the 80s with faces like Elle Macpherson, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington.
Over the course of his career, Aarons has captured many a legend relaxing in their private quarters, be that Joan Collins, Marilyn Monroe, or Britt Ekland. In this photograph from 1954, Aarons snaps newlywed actress, Eden Hartford, taking breakfast in bed in the Hollywood home she shared with comedian, Groucho Marx (who Slim also captured in bed).
Discover our full selection of Slim Aarons photographs here
