Vivian Maier: street photographer discovered after her death

[samurman]

I have uploaded a number of street photographs, from 1950s and 60s, taken by Vivian Maier. Do read her extraordinary story and even more extraordinary discovery of her work:

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-2011/Vivian-Maier-Street-Photographer/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc

 

In short, she was a woman of French-Austrian descent, and lived most of her life as a nanny in Chicago. She was a very extraordinary and independent-minded woman. Street photography was her greatest passion. Since she lived with the families whose children she was the nanny for, she carried with her all her life's worth of collections in boxes, which had accumulated to some 200 boxes by 1987! In 2007, some of those boxes were sold at auction by the storage facility, because they were not claimed. Then, a 26 year old real estate agent named John Maloof got hold of one box, which contained thousands of negatives. He then acquired other boxes, so that he now has about 100 thousand photographs, taken by Vivian Maier. Maloof could only find out her identity in April 2009, but then, she was already dead!

 

You can see more of her work at:

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/ and

http://vivianmaierphotography.com/

 

The photos I have uploaded are:

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-1306.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-1007.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-956.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-855.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-797.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-735.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-633.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_CHI-628.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_926.jpg

http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10574/fur_617.jpg

 

Although these images are not large size, the original negatives are medium size format, so if scanned properly, they must give fantastic level of detail. I understand that the two people owning the Vivian Maier photographs are now trying to figure out how to convert their possession into money. Maybe they can be persuaded towards a separate project (book?) of street fur fashion in Chicago from 50s onwards through Vivian Maier's lens?

 

I think such a proposition would really excite our beloved friend JGalanos... He is truly missed:(

[auzmink]

Great images of old and images of the 'old'.....Fur was not for younger ages back then....

 

Auzmink