The Butlers

Description

The Butlers presents Allan and Shirley Butler at their Jacaranda estate pool in Nassau, March 1971, where ancestral fortune meets headline controversy. Mrs. Butler, daughter of Sir Harry Oakes whose 1943 killing remains one of history’s most sensational mysteries, reclines beside her husband at the 1840 mansion built from Georgia ballast stones. This photograph captures Caribbean nobility two years before independence, when old British money still commanded island society and the Oakes millions, born from Canadian gold mines and baptized in controversy, sustained a legacy shadowed by darkness.

Beyond poolside leisure, this print grants entry to a narrative of assassination, money, and post-colonial power that reads like fiction yet court records confirm. The Butlers becomes your connection to one of the twentieth century’s most intriguing cold cases, lending your space the gravitas of true crime aristocracy. Guests discover not just an image but a portal to the Duke of Windsor’s involvement, Meyer Lansky’s alleged connections, and riches that survived their founder’s brutal demise to support another generation’s tropical ease.

When Slim Aarons photographed the Butlers, he captured more than wealthy subjects; he preserved evidence of a vanishing social order where acquired notoriety mingled with Caribbean comfort. Your acquisition of this print signals sophisticated cultural knowledge, an appreciation for narratives that transcend mere aesthetics. Slim Aarons understood that Jacaranda’s pool reflected something darker than equatorial sunshine: the complex story of money built on gold and maintained through secrecy, now gracing your chosen wall with historical weight.

Available in photo lustre or matte finish, professionally framed in black, white, or natural wood to complement your interior vision. Gallery-quality printing ensures every detail of this remarkable scene persists for decades. Secure this glimpse into the island’s most notorious family story, where every viewing reminds you that power and tragedy often share the same address. Make this fascinating piece of Bahamian history yours today.