In January of 1970, Nelda Linsk thought she was hosting a cocktail party for friends by the pool at the Kaufmann House.
She wound up being part of history.
“It was just very casual,” recalls Linsk, who owned the Kaufmann House at the time. “We just wore what we had; we did our own makeup and hair. We had no idea it was going to be so famous.”
Linsk and her friend, Helen Kaptur, casually sat poolside with actress Lita Baron. Palm Springs’ quintessential mountain views and the midcentury home framed the scene as Slim Aarons stepped behind the lens. His photo became known as Poolside Gossip, and that moment in time became the poster for promoting the Palm Springs lifestyle across the globe.
Thirty-five years later in January 2015, photographer Klaus Mosser restaged the shot with Linsk and Kaptur at the Kaufmann House. Linsks’s dear friend, the wife of Palm Springs architect Hugh Kaptur, passed away just a few weeks later. Baron died in 2016.
As one of fashion’s most beloved photographers, Aarons described his work to Linsk as “photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.” Linsk and her late husband Joe became friends with Aarons when they lived in Bedford, Connecticut.
Linsk will reminisce about the photo and living in Palm Springs at a talk and slide presentation with Gary Johns during Modernism Week. The event is just one of several scheduled for Feb. 23.
PHOTO BY LYDIA KREMER
Helen Kaptur and Nelda Linsk recreate the famous Poolside Gossip photo at the Kaufmann House 35 years later in 2015.
On the same day, author Laura Hawk will discuss her new book, Slim Aarons: Women, the Making of the Book and the Stories Behind It. Eric Rachlis, director of licensing services at Getty Images, will join her. Both have worked with Aarons. Following the presentation, Hawk and Rachlis will answer audience questions and attendees will have the opportunity to get their books signed.
There will be a film screening of The High Life: Slim Aarons and a Q&A with the documentary’s executive director, Susan Hootstein. The day’s events conclude with a catered cocktail reception at the former residence of socialite Jeannette Rockefeller.
Visit www.modernismweek.com for times and ticket information.
PHOTO BY LYDIA KREMER
Gary Johns and Nelda Linsk will reminisce about the 1970 photo at the Kaufman House in Palm Springs.
PHOTO BY LYDIA KREMER
Actress Lita Baron (center) returned to Palm Springs in 2015 to mark te 35th anniversary of Slim Aaron’s famous photo. She is flanked by Jeff Stanley and Laurie Calhoun.