Orson Directing // Signed Print

1952: Orson Welles (1915-1985) directing an actor while on location for the filming of Othello in Venice.

Throughout his half a century career, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated, and their environment. This allowed Aarons to capture a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty, and leisure that occurred simultaneously— but quite separate from— the cultural and political backdrop during the second half of the Twentieth Century.

Slims began his photography career while in the Army, where he was quickly appointed the official photographer of the United States Military Academy at West Point. From North Africa to the Middle East and Europe, Slims witnessed the fall of Tobruk and the liberation of Rome. He also received a Purple Heart.

After leaving the army, Aarons became a freelance photojournalist covering the Hollywood elite— Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh to name but a few. He worked for magazines like Life, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Travel & Leisure photographing parties in Beverly Hills or spending winters in Palm Beach. Aarons' imagery attains a degree of intimacy, approaching that of family photos. In recent years, the influence of his work has been increasingly acknowledged and is Aarons is now regarded as one of the most influential photographers of his generation.