LOS ANGELES, CA.- The majority collection of Vivian Maier’s negatives, film, and prints capture urban and domestic spheres, as well as more intimate moments through self-portraiture. As an unsuspecting nanny with a sharp wit and observant eye, the artist's work reflects a curiosity and keenness to interpret the world around her, and an unrelenting dedication to document everyday life from the vantage point of the streets using a medium-fomat Rolleiflex camera with waist-level viewfinder. Much of her work was shot outdoors or as she traveled with camera in hand, sometimes with the children she nannied in tow.


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Born in New York and raised in France, Maier spent some forty years working as a nanny in the Chicago area. Described as a ‘free-spirit’ and “quasi ‘Mary Poppins’ figure” by her former charges, Maier was a fiercely private individual. Though she could often be found out on the streets taking photographs, Maier appeared to outsiders as little more than a dedicated hobbyist. Though she rarely spoke of taking photos, and kept her work to herself, Maier’s internal life was fueled by a passion for photography and the nuances of public life. This passion took her all across the urban expanses of Chicago and New York and between 1959 and 1960, further afield to exotic locales like Beijing, Manila and Egypt. Throughout this time, Maier was hoarding a treasure trove of images, that once discovered, placed her among the greatest American photographers.

Though Maier often focused on marginalized elements of society, her subjects come from all walks of life. This egalitarian attitude reveals a sensitivity and compassion for the broad mass of humanity – an ability to render a crowd of people as individuals, each face with its own personality and story. She had an eye for the rare moments in which strangers exposed aspects of their character that otherwise would have been lost to a public façade. She also had a knack for capturing larger cultural undercurrents just beyond the frame.

Maier's self-portraits, like much of her other work, coax more meaning and nuance out of physical appearance than should be possible, steeped in a quiet intensity, the sense of a woman thoroughly comfortable in her own skin.

Maier died in 2009 at the age of 83, before the extent of her legacy had been fully understood or revealed. Despite being virtually unknown to the public during her lifetime, Maier’s allure endures as scholars and admirers continue to research and piece together details of her life, despite much of which remains a mystery.

As renowned photographer Joel Meyerowitz put it, Maier was “a quick study of human nature, of the unfolding moment, the flash of a gesture, or the mood of a facial expression – brief events that turned the quotidian life of the street into a revelation for her.”

Maier's work has been celebrated by The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, American Photo, Town and Country, and countless other publications. Her work has captivated the world and spawned comparisons to photography's masters including Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt, Lisette Model, Walker Evans, and Weegee, among others.

Vivian Maier's work has been exhibited worldwide at Le Musée du Luxemborg, Paris, Centro Cultural de Cascais, Cascais , Portugal, Espaço Cultural Porto Seguro, São Paulo, Brazil, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, FoLa Fototeca, Latinoamericana, Buenos Aires , Argentina, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada,The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland, Musée de l’Ancien Évêché, Grenoble, France, Patio Herreriano Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Español, Valladolid Spain, Spain among others.



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