Have you heard the story of Vivian Maier? The New York Times calls her “one of America’s more insightful street photographers,” but if John Maloof didn’t discover Maier’s images, this all would’ve been different. Vivian Maier was born in New York in 1926, lived in France, returned to New York in 1951, then later settled in Chicago. Maier loved to wander the streets using her Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera, snapping photos wherever she went. Taking pictures into the late 90s, Maier left behind over 100,000 negatives and hundreds of undeveloped rolls of film that she didn’t share with anyone, and many of them she never saw herself.
In 2007, John Maloof purchased a box full of Maier’s negatives for $400 at a local thrift auction house in Chicago by accident (he thought he was purchasing pictures of Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood). But of course he knew he stumbled onto something wonderful. Now Maier’s vintage photos, of Chicago and New York, have received worldwide attention and acclaim. Here are some of her New York photos during the 50′s. Click the link above to view more photos. Enjoy
#1 by Niki, unifiedspace on March 27, 2012 - 10:17 AM
Wow, these are pure treasure. The depth of focus is incredible and the composition beautiful. Pure style.Thank you for telling us about her.
#2 by Kristy on March 27, 2012 - 10:18 AM
Stunning! And what a find.
How lucky is that guy to have gotten such treasure for only $400?! And so neat to see these places through Vivian’s eyes. Great stuff!
#3 by thecompletecookbook on March 27, 2012 - 10:22 AM
How brilliant that her work is now living on!
Mandy
#4 by glutenfreezen on March 27, 2012 - 10:30 AM
Beautiful photographs! How wonderful that she left such a legacy without even realizing it. I love the 50′s pictures. Those types of “dress up” eras always interest me. I think it’s neat that men and women alike dressed up even on a regular day. Love it!
#5 by thedrivencook on March 27, 2012 - 10:37 AM
Gorgeous photos with a great story behind them!
#6 by niasunset on March 27, 2012 - 10:53 AM
So beautiful, Thank you dear Kay, with my love, nia
#7 by stephanie fitzpatrick on March 27, 2012 - 11:42 AM
Exquisite!
#8 by CereusArt on March 27, 2012 - 11:54 AM
wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing.
#9 by cravesadventure on March 27, 2012 - 12:06 PM
Beautiful – thanks for sharing! Have a Great Day:)
#10 by Chica Andaluza on March 27, 2012 - 2:13 PM
Amazing – and I love so much about photos from this era. The clothes, the styles, the buildings…perfect!
#11 by zestybeandog on March 27, 2012 - 3:15 PM
Beautiful Photos!
#12 by aterlycan on March 27, 2012 - 3:34 PM
wow….
#13 by jdlarkin on March 27, 2012 - 4:49 PM
Beautiful and inspirational! Thank you
#14 by ChgoJohn on March 27, 2012 - 7:33 PM
That’s such a wonderful collection, Kay! Thank you so much for finding and sharing it with us. I’ll be on a Vivian Maier kick for a few days now, checking out the websites.
#15 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide on March 27, 2012 - 8:21 PM
Wow, the lighting and composition is just amazing!
#16 by ceciliag on March 27, 2012 - 9:51 PM
That is a fantastic story,this old film is impossible to find now, such depth in them.. c
#17 by baconbiscuit212 on March 27, 2012 - 9:51 PM
Those photos are incredible! And what an amazing story! It makes you wonder how many undiscovered treasures there are out there. Such a lucky break that John Maloof bought them and had the sense to share her work with the world.
#18 by Courtney on March 27, 2012 - 9:58 PM
Gorgeous! What an undiscovered treasure he lucked into. Great pictures.
#19 by Mila Said on March 27, 2012 - 10:03 PM
Beautiful! I love old photographs.
#20 by My Inner Chick on March 27, 2012 - 11:16 PM
~~~Fabulous.
I’d love to frame these old black and white gems to hang in my house:) I really love them.Xx
#21 by hotlyspiced on March 28, 2012 - 12:41 AM
What a beautiful story and how precious it is that those images were kept safe for all those years and are now available to view. She certainly has captured an amazing period of history xx
#22 by Lisa at fLVE on March 28, 2012 - 2:07 AM
Wow, I love all of them. So glad that he brought them and then recognize that they are special and decides to share them… And thank you Kay, for sharing these with us.
#23 by Princess Laila on March 28, 2012 - 2:34 AM
She really did have an amazing talent. What a discovery! She truly lives on through her work.
#24 by countingducks on March 28, 2012 - 4:39 AM
Lovely photos. It is a shame she never got the appreciation her talent deserved while shewas alive. She had an amazing eye
#25 by yummychunklet on March 28, 2012 - 8:18 AM
Amazing photos. Thanks for sharing them!
#26 by aFrankAngle on March 28, 2012 - 9:03 AM
Good find and tribute. Interestingly, I hadn’t heard of her, but within recent months this is the second post I’ve read on her. Her photos capture a lot about life!
#27 by aterlycan on March 28, 2012 - 7:41 PM
Gorgeous
#28 by Just A Smidgen on March 28, 2012 - 11:52 PM
Oh… this was just the most inspiring website in a long while (food blogs aside, of course;) I love discovering new photographers, especially female photographers that were undiscovered, likely because of the time when they were actively photographing. She is sooo talented, just when you think you’ve seen it all, someone takes it to a new level!!
#29 by spiderpaw on March 29, 2012 - 1:17 PM
This story totally warms my heart. I am so glad that her hard work was rescued by this guy. I know first hand about her camera ( I have used one) and I know it takes true talent to capture photos the way she did. In this world of digital photography, it is people like her that give me the most inspiration. Nice post Kay.
#30 by emaculent photography on March 29, 2012 - 6:02 PM
vintage street photography is ohh so sweet
#31 by Androgoth on March 29, 2012 - 6:13 PM
Her photographic energy and charm is etched within these delightful b & w photographs, and what a wondrously nice collection… Pure genius
Androgoth XXX
#32 by Cara on March 29, 2012 - 8:45 PM
There is something so lovely about the first pic to me. I love how every woman represents age and time period in the life of a woman. Just stunning. It speaks to me.
#33 by Dionne Baldwin on March 30, 2012 - 7:33 PM
The last one on the lower right really caught my attention. I’d love that on my wall so I could look at it often.
#34 by Rebecca Booth on April 8, 2012 - 5:58 PM
What a great story and the photos are just awesome! Thanks for sharing!