Friend to celebrities and the Café Society, Slim Aarons was all about showing the beauty.
Rare self-portrait by Slim Aarons - Capri, 1968
Trained at the West Point Academy in New York, where he learned the various techniques of photography, Slim soon joined the military newspaper "The Stars and Stripes" as a photojournalist. It was with this position that he made his first trips outside the U.S., first to London, then to the front in Italy, to photograph the horrors of war.
After this traumatic experience, Slim Aarons plunged into what would make him famous. A photographer for Life Magazine for a time, he became best known for the reports he produced for Holiday around the world. From this experience, he kept the friendship and sympathy he enjoyed with the world's greats.
Sea urchins in Maltese coves in 1959
The secret world of Café Society opened its doors wide to him, and he - a sensitive being - was touched by the beauty and elegance that reigned in these private homes and beaches. His photos are masterful, even stylized, but always taken in natural light. They emphasize postures and outfits, but also the setting.
Villa Nirvana - owned by Oscar Obregon in Acapulco, 1972
Slim Aarons knows how to put his subjects at ease, and like Martin Parr, he's never too mocking - quite the opposite. In his eye, harmony is created. From start to finish, he remains true to his motto: "Only photograph attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places".
