Recently I came across this story of an extraordinary find and the discovery of an amazing woman who was perhaps one of the finest photographers of the mid 20th century. She captured the spirit of the times through the photographs she took on random walks on the streets in Chicago and a few travel expeditions. Here’s a brief look at the story:
In 2008, a 26 year old realtor from Chicago, John Maloof, purchased an anonymous box of photographic negatives and images at an auction for $400. It had been acquired from a repossessed storage locker. Once he saw what he had he went about purchasing some of the other boxes from other buyers at the auction. After spending seven months reviewing the photographic material in his possession, he found written, almost illegibly on one of the sleeves of film, the name Vivian Maier. He immediately googled her and found her obituary in the papers. She had died several days earlier, in April of 2009. With the help of genealogist Susan Berlowitz, Maloof found that Vivian Maier was born in New York City and then moved to France while still very young. She returned to the U.S. speaking and writing French around the age of twelve, and later became a nanny to several families on the North side of Chicago. On her day’s off, she would wander the city with her camera and shoot whatever captured her eye. 
Out of the more than 100,000 negatives John has in his collection, about 20-30,000 negatives were still in rolls, undeveloped from the 1960’s-1970’s. He has systematically developed one roll after the other and has found a treasure trove and an amazing record of daily life. Because of John’s diligent work, Vivian had her first exhibition in Norway in 2010. She is now having her first solo exhibition here in the US at the Chicago Cultural Center. Around 80 posthumous prints will be on display including a sample of her color work. It runs from January 8th to April 3rd. If you’re in Chicago, be sure to stop into the Cultural Center on 78 E. Washington. 
So far this is what John is doing with his find:
- He started a blog showing Vivian’s work
- He is publishing a book-Maier’s PowerHouse book is currently in the making with an expected release around Fall of 2011.
- He is producing a feature-length documentary film – currently spearheaded by John’s good friend Anthony Rydzon and John himself; and in cooperation with Mortensen Film.
- He has scanned and archived about 10,000 negatives with the help of Anthony Rydzon.
For the whole story, plus an opportunity to see more of her work, take a look at the video below.
What are your thoughts about this story; Vivian’s photographs; and the fact so many amazing artists are not discovered until after their death? I’d love to hear what you think. Leave me a comment below, and thanks for sharing a Little Bit of Beauty™ with your friends today!
Comments
Related Articles
9 Comments
-
I went and saw the exhibition a few days ago and Maier’s photography is absolutely wonderful. She obviously had a very talented eye for subject and composition. There is a depth in her work that I have not seen from many so-called professional photographers. I believe that her work will quickly become considered some of the best of the past century, it is just that good.
-
Author
I was hoping one of my Chicago friends would see this and check it out for me in person. Glad you saw it and liked it Brion. Fabulous story isn’t it?
-
Pingbacks
-
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Irene Turner. Irene Turner said: Fabulous new find, photographer Vivian Maier, one of the best Mid Century artists. Visit in Chicago now http://ow.ly/3G0zG […]
Trackbacks
-
Great point of view…
You can view about it more extensively here……
-
Check this out…
[…] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[…]……
-
Online Articles…
[…]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available […]……
-
Gems form the internet…
[…]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[…]……
-
Cool sites…
[…]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[…]……
-
Related……
[…]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[…]……
