I’m familiar with Vivian Vance, Vivien Leigh – but Vivian Maier? Nah. Never heard of her. But then her images kept cropping up, moving cross my social feed and my consciousness. And like any great artist, once you know who she is – yowsa. Unforgettable, and how could I not have been familiar with her name, her work, her amazing ability to capture humanity – including stunning self-portraits in black and white – at its most authentic? Well, Maier kept her identity close and confused, and work hidden, moving about the world alone, independent. To make money and support her photography, she primarily worked as a nanny for various well-off families throughout her adult life, most in Chicago – including a brief stint as a housekeeper for – Phil Donahue!! All this after a childhood that was spent primarily in France, and NYC, with periods of living in what appears to have been deep poverty.
Maier also took photos in a less than stellar time for female artists as a whole, especially one who was untrained, didn’t have money, or connections, a highly individual and private woman living and working on her own terms in mid-twentieth-century ‘Merica. There are many, many great images among her work, but – a few are below. Love love LOVE.
Maier was not known or recognized for her work until after her death, yet – to see her photos is to immediately understand what great photography is, or can be.
I am unable to post the YouTube to the documentary (Finding Vivian Maier) of this marvelous and mysterious woman’s life, work and subsequent ‘discovery’, but it’s available there and other streaming platforms, including one I am unfamiliar with, Philo. Her wiki page is also linked below. https://www.philo.com/player/player/show/U2hvdzo2MDg1NDg4OTk2NDg1MjQyOTY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Maier
