The story behind these old photographs by Vivian Maier
have captured my beating heart!
~As most of you may know that my blog is rarely so 'heavy' on words,
but today I simply have to share this remarkable story with all of you...
...Born in New York in 1926, Vivian Maier lived in France and then returned to New York in 1951 where she lived for five years. She wandered the streets and snapped pictures wherever she went. Later, she moved to Chicago to work as a nanny for forty years. Continued taking pictures into the late 1990s, Maier would leave behind a body of work comprising over 100,000 negatives! She did not share her pictures with others and many she never saw herself. She left behind hundreds of undeveloped rolls of film.
...Enter John Maloof, a young eBay entrepreneur and real estate agent. In 2007, after acquiring a box full of Maier's negatives for $400 at a local thrift auction house. Almost by accident! He thought he was purchasing pictures of Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood, the then 26-year-old would soon realize that he had stumbled upon something very epic!!! Now 50 years after Maier took her photos, her body of work has gone on to receive critical acclaim and worldwide attention. The photos that were seemingly destined for obscurity, have been given a new lease on life. Just imagine all of this would all have been different if one man didn't happen to discover the negatives by accident! {source*] .
Such an amazing story, huh? Truly makes me wonder more about fate & destiny!
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~XOXO*
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17 comments:
Amazing story. She had a wonderful eye!
I love this, Lenore Nevermore! This woman was a brilliant photographer as revealed by these few samples of her work. Black and white is always the best. My favorites are the line of people against the building, the man with cigarette adjusting his camera, the reflecting puddle in the park, and the wind whipped folks on the observation deck. Thank you dear friend!
Isn't this just fascinating .. & the photographs.... so beautiful !! I was captivated by Vivian Maier"s story when I first read about it too & posted about it on my blog as well.
http://sallytharperowlesbetweenherethere.blogspot.com/2011/03/amazing-photography-of-vivian-maier.html
Thanks for continuing to keep this story out there!
What a fantastic story and FIND!?
Beautiful.
Wow. They are such lovely photos. I wonder why she didn't try to get them published.
Since I live in the Chicago area, I was lucky enough to catch a small sample of these awesome photos at the Chicago Cultural Center. They are definitely a site to behold and the story behind them is awesome.
Angie
Love this story and the pictures are amazing!
Helen,
there's also an interesting & long article here =
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/12/celebrating-vivian-maiers_n_834905.html#s252866
Angie,
how awesome! exhibitions coming to NY & LA soon...i hope to get the book & watch the documentary~ i'm intrigued!
I loved getting to see more of these images. I've been following her story since it first broke and am dying to see the documentary!
xo Mary Jo
What an amazing story...thank goodness for that discovery! Fantastic photographs.
xxx
How did I miss this story?
Blown away.
An extraordinary find.
her photos are fabulous, wish i could have the exhibit and look forward to the documentary!
Wow that is pretty amazing. What's crazy is she'll never know!
- Sarah
http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com
Sarah,
in a way quite a sad story...
I'm sure there are lessons to be learned here, yes?
Let's ponder more!
~Thank you everyone!
I am with the others, it is sad she never realized what a talent she had.
wonderful photos, really. i had read about the story before, the coincidences are incredible.
i agree that there's something very sad about her need to take the pictures but then never showing them to anyone or even developing most of them.. it seems like she always kept herself on the outside, only an observer.
Awesome too!
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