This woman has been getting much buzz lately and has come up in separate conversations. Her work is monumental as an artist and a time capsule, yet her legacy is shrouded in mystery that will likely never be uncovered. She photographed B&W images of street life in New York & Chicago in the 1950s and 60s. Most of the pics were one-shot and she must have waited patiently for the right shot to emerge before snapping. What we know is that she was reclusive, worked as a nanny and rarely even printed most of her work.
She kept most of her personal belongings in a storage space and as her health began to decline, the rent went unpaid and the possessions were sold off. Cut to 20 years later in 2007 when art historian John Maloof bought over 10,000 negatives at an auction and began printing the photos. Since then they have been on exhibit around the world. By the time he had tried to contact her, she had died of an unusual street accident with head injuries. Her pictures are slice-of-life in the big city and bring grace to the ordinary. His research culminates in a recent in a documentary entitled Finding Vivian Maier. We are so very fortunate that the Minneapolis Photo Center has a patron who owns about 10% of her known works. They had been on exhibit this winter as her popularity has soared. So they are bringing it back as part of their permanent collection on March 14th. I know that I will not miss the 2nd chance to catch her extraordinary work.
Mpls Photo Center
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