Vivian Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American amateur street photographer who was born in New York but grew up in France, and after returning to the U.S., worked for about forty years as a nanny in Chicago. During those years she took about 100,000 photographs, primarily of people and cityscapes most often in Chicago, although she traveled and photographed worldwide.
Her photographs remained unknown and mostly undeveloped until they were discovered by a local historian, John Maloof, in 2007. Following Maier's death her work began to receive critical acclaim.[1][2] Her photographs have appeared in newspapers in Italy, Argentina, and England, and have been exhibited alongside other artists' work in Denmark and Norway; her first solo exhibition ran at the Chicago Cultural Center from January 8 until April 3, 2011
Her photographs remained unknown and mostly undeveloped until they were discovered by a local historian, John Maloof, in 2007. Following Maier's death her work began to receive critical acclaim.[1][2] Her photographs have appeared in newspapers in Italy, Argentina, and England, and have been exhibited alongside other artists' work in Denmark and Norway; her first solo exhibition ran at the Chicago Cultural Center from January 8 until April 3, 2011
