Who Is Vivian Maier?

Who is Vivian Maier? Why was she so secretive in life even and in death her mystery has deepened more? What drove Maier too keep her photography a secret? Why did she take them? Why wouldn’t want to share them with the world? Vivian Maier is an undiscovered photographer resurrected. For over 50 years Maier made more than 150,000 exposures in her lifetime. She printed only a fraction of these negatives. Unknown as a photographer during her long life, she was a private woman who now speaks powerfully through photographs she took only for herself. Sifting through boxes at an auction with the help of John Maloof, “a real-estate agent, amateur historian, and garage-sale obsessive, acquired a box of photographic materials and personal items at an auction in suburban Chicago in 2007” , Maier was found. Maloof's discovery of her photo work and his effort to piece together the story of her life began. He started to tracked down the rest of
Leaving behind over 100,000 negatives, 700 rolls of color film, over 2,000 undeveloped black and white film and prints found in a storage locker and sold at auction- attracted the attention of millions around the world. Unknown as a photographer during her long life, she was a private woman who now speaks powerfully through photographs she took only for herself. It seemed like she lived two different lives: her domestic life and personal, creative life. Maybe she never trusted anyone to bear witness to her work. It’s clear that Vivian did not want to be known as a photographer during her lifetime but her art was a private expression, one that she desired and kept behind locked doors. At every stage of her life as an artist. She was exploring, questioning, evolving and growing. Here is a woman who spent her entire adult life through a camera. In death, as in life, Vivian Maier left few clues about who she was, why she pursued photography and what she was