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