Kings of Hollywood
Slim Aarons
From € 250.00 Including VAT
About this work
Kings of Hollywood, Beverly Hills
Four men in white tie stand at a long bar, laughing at the same joke. The one on the left rests a hand on the counter, the third holds his glass to his chest and squeezes his eyes shut with delight. White bow ties, white waistcoats, a carnation on a lapel. Draped fabric hangs behind them, and at the edge a fifth guest looks the other way.
At a New Year's party at Romanoff's in Beverly Hills, Clark Gable, Van Heflin, Gary Cooper and James Stewart, from left to right, stood together at the bar, and Slim Aarons captured it. What carries the picture is that no one is posing. The four stars look not at the lens but at each other, and the laughter runs like a wave from left to right along the row. The camera is a guest here, not an audience.
Film stars (left to right) Clark Gable (1901 – 1960), Van Heflin (1910 – 1971), Gary Cooper (1901 – 1961) and James Stewart (1908 – 1997) enjoy a joke at a New Year’s party held at Romanoff’s in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images)
- Photographer
- Slim Aarons
- Country
- USA
- Area
- California
- City
- Beverly Hills
- Collection
- Slim Aarons
- Reference
- 2716721
The photographer
Photographing attractive people who were doing attractive things in attractive places.
George Allen Aarons, born in New York, served as a military photographer in World War II and subsequently transitioned to print journalism. Whereas he previously documented the war, he deliberately chose the opposite subject: the leisure time of the rich and famous, in breathtaking settings.
His most famous photograph, The Kings of Hollywood (1957), encapsulates what he sought in all his portraits: glamour, charisma, and celebrity, captured in a relaxed manner.
Aarons won the trust of the people he photographed, thereby gaining access to some of the most intimate and candid portraits of the twentieth century. In 2007, Getty Images published the book Poolside With Slim Aarons , crowning his legacy.
- Born October 29, 1916 , New York
- Died May 29, 2006 , Montrose, NY
- Hulton Archive / Getty Images
