Vivian Maier was an American photographer who earned her living as a nanny in New York and Chicago while taking tens of thousands of street photographs that remained secret. Her body of work, discovered by chance shortly before her death, revealed her as a major figure in street photography.
Vivian Maier(1926 — 2009)
Vivian Maier
États-Unis, France
6 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born in 1926 in New York, she spent part of her childhood in France
- Worked as a nanny in Chicago from the 1950s onward while photographing the street
- Took more than 150,000 photographs over the course of her life, never exhibited during her lifetime
- Her negatives were bought at auction in 2007 by John Maloof, who revealed her work
- Died in 2009 in Chicago, shortly before her work gained worldwide recognition
Works & Achievements
Series of self-portraits captured in shop windows, mirrors and shadows, which became the visual signature of her work.
Scenes of New York City life, candid portraits of passers-by, children and outsiders caught in the moment.
A vast documentation of the city of Chicago, its working-class neighborhoods and its inhabitants.
Short amateur films of street scenes that extended her photographer's eye into moving images.
The first posthumous collection of her prints, which revealed her to audiences worldwide.
A photographic record made during a solo trip around the world, from Asia to the Middle East and Europe.
Anecdotes
Vivian Maier worked for decades as a nanny for affluent families in the suburbs of Chicago, her Rolleiflex always hanging around her neck. The children she looked after remember that she took them into working-class neighborhoods and even to the slaughterhouses to photograph the street, without ever showing her images to anyone.
Her work was discovered by chance in 2007: a young Chicago real estate agent, John Maloof, bought a box of negatives at auction for about 380 dollars because the owner had failed to pay the rent on the storage locker. He had no idea who the photographer was.
When she died in 2009, Maier left behind more than 100,000 to 150,000 negatives, including thousands of rolls that had never been developed. During her lifetime she had printed only a tiny fraction of her work on paper and had never sought to exhibit or sell it.
Maier produced a great many self-portraits by capturing her reflection in shop windows, mirrors, and the shadows cast on the sidewalk. This visual signature has become one of the most recognizable hallmarks of her work.
Intensely private, she sometimes used false names (such as “V. Smith”) and gave deliberately vague details about her origins, even though she had been born in New York and had spent part of her childhood in France, in the Hautes-Alpes.
Primary Sources
The book gathers the first prints made from the negatives bought at auction in Chicago, introducing the public to a photographer who remained unknown during her lifetime.
The film collects the testimonies of the families and the children Maier looked after, portraying an enigmatic, cultured woman deeply attached to her camera.
The former children she cared for recount her long photographic walks and her refusal to let anyone enter her room, which was cluttered with boxes and newspapers.
Key Places
Vivian Maier's birthplace, where she began street photography in the early 1950s, roaming the working-class neighborhoods of Manhattan.
The city where Maier worked as a nanny for decades, photographed intensely, and died in obscurity in 2009.
A village in the French Alps tied to Maier's maternal family, where she spent part of her childhood and later returned to photograph.
An affluent suburb where Maier was employed by the Gensburg family, who took her in and supported her until the end of her life.
Typical Objects
A twin-lens camera viewed from above and held at waist height. It was Maier's signature tool, letting her photograph passers-by discreetly without raising the camera to her eye.
Silver-based black-and-white and later color film on which her images were captured. Thousands of rolls remained undeveloped until their posthumous discovery.
The plain, old-fashioned outfit Maier wore every day, giving her a recognizable silhouette. She often appears dressed this way in her reflected self-portraits.
Maier kept countless boxes of prints and negatives, along with piles of newspapers, in her room. This hoarding reflected her obsessive relationship with memory and information.
A small amateur movie camera with which Maier also made short films of street scenes. In this way she extended her reporter's eye beyond still photography.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Daily Life
Morning
Vivian Maier began her day with her nanny duties: preparing breakfast for the children and walking them to school. As soon as she could, she would hang her Rolleiflex around her neck so as never to miss a street scene.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, she often took the children on long walks, turning every outing into a photographic expedition. She willingly ventured into working-class neighborhoods, markets, and the bustling streets of downtown.
Evening
When evening came, Maier would retreat to her room, which she kept locked, surrounded by her boxes of negatives and stacks of newspapers. There she sorted her images and read the press extensively.
Food
A woman of modest means, she ate simply from whatever the families who employed her provided, or from frugal meals bought in town. She placed more importance on her film rolls than on her material comfort.
Clothing
Maier wore plain, somewhat old-fashioned outfits: loose coats, long skirts, buttoned shirts, and wide-brimmed hats. This austere schoolmistress look made her both recognizable and unobtrusive.
Housing
Housed by her employers, she occupied a room cluttered with her photographic archives and accumulated newspapers. At the end of her life, without a job or savings, she was helped by a family she had once served.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Autoportraits dans les reflets
années 1950-1970
Photographies de rue de New York
années 1950
Photographies de rue de Chicago
années 1956-1970
Vivian Maier: Street Photographer (livre)
2011
Voyage autour du monde
1959-1960
