Soho Waiters' Race
Slim Aarons · 1955
From € 250.00 Including VAT
About this work
Soho Waiters' Race, London 1955
A man in a white jacket and black trousers runs down the street with long strides, a tray with a small bottle in his hand. Behind him follow other waiters in white jackets or black tuxedos, each with a tray. Along the curb the crowd stands packed together. Flags and banners hang from the facades, and at left a lamppost stands under a tree.
The annual waiters' race in Soho, London, in 1955: waiters carrying half bottles of champagne set off from Soho Square toward Greek Street. It is black and white, and the contrast between white jackets and black trousers turns every runner into a recognizable silhouette. Aarons captures the moment just after the start, with the leader already a few paces clear of the rest. The front waiter moves; the crowd behind him stands still.
- Photographer
- Slim Aarons
- Collection
- Slim Aarons
- Country
- United Kingdom
- City
- London
- Year
- 1955
- Reference
- 109744461
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
