Introduction
The woman behind the camera never asked to be famous. Intensely private, decidedly unmaterialistic, and considered eccentric, Vivian Maier simply described herself as “a freak with a camera.”

For over four decades, Maier would secretly indulge her passion for photographing the world around her, leaving almost 100,000 negatives of New York and Chicago before her death in 2009.

Despite her talent and ambition, Maier’s fame came posthumously; her photos of 1950s street life, with an emphasis on the real lives of the working-class, has almost been lost to history.

Which begs the question why, if so incredible, was Maier never recognized in life? And how exactly did one man accidentally stumble upon her missing masterpieces? Finally, who was Vivian Maier, and why is she hailed as one of the most prolific female photographers of the 20th century?

Early Life & Upbringing
Vivian’s childhood was abnormal. Born in 1920s New York to a French mother and Austrian father, she spent her early years in France before returning to the U.S permanently in 1951. Despite being considerably poor and constantly on the move, Maier began to develop hobbies.

Experimenting with amateur pieces, such as the Kodak Brownie, she quickly became frustrated by a cheap camera’s inability to capture the world as it was. She instead craved complete accuracy, and a burning desire to capture the truth around her.

Ostensibly to make a living, but, more likely, to afford a better camera, Maier took up nannying as a profession. During that time, she purchased a Rolleiflex, a considerable upgrade from the Kodak, and began to wander the streets of New York, capturing candid moments of the urban sprawl, her curiosity evident in every photo from the era.

Later Years & Career
As she grew older and ran out of her inheritance, Maier struggled financially. Being a caretaker, she was regularly unemployed, as children aged out of her care. Despite this, she persevered, using what little she had to purchase color cameras, including a Leica IIIc and various German SLR cameras. Her most famous works are in black and white, but being able to capture color allowed Maier more creative freedom than she had previously.

Slowly, her work became more abstract, as people were traded for other urban staples, like graffiti and trash. However, photography was an expensive hobby, and she lacked the means to develop all of her film into actual pictures. This forced her to keep them stored in shoe boxes, storage units, and stockpiles. Her work remained a secret up until her death in 2009.

Discovery
For the last few years of her life, Vivian struggled to make ends meet. Struggling with homelessness and other debt, by 2007 she could no longer afford to rent out her storage unit. The unit was auctioned off, along with her life’s work and all her undeveloped negatives.

Eventually, her art was discovered by a man named John Maloof. Maloof had been seeking around 200 photographs of the Chicago area for a book he was constructing about Chicago’s architecture. At the RPN auction house, he found a box of old photographs featuring the area in the 1960s.

He was disappointed, as the negatives weren’t of any particular use to him. For two years the photos were tucked away, Maloof himself forgetting all about them. Eventually, however, he rediscovered them, taking it upon himself to learn all he could about Maier’s life and work. He became something of a Maier fanatic, taking it upon himself to preserve and restore her archives. Without Maloof’s efforts, Maier would have become one of the greats never to be discovered.

Style & Legacy
Nowadays, it’s practically impossible to see a photograph of a reflection and not automatically recognize it as an homage to Maier. Her impact and legacy is undeniable, with various exhibitions of her work and books about her life making waves across the globe. Her work, characterized by street photography and its raw, intimate feel, is regarded as some of the best records of 20th century urban America.

Her technique was highly unique, distinguished by its mostly black and white composition, candid portraiture, and political observation. Her photographs captured unique moments of Americana, the unseen lives of the lower class, and unusual and eccentric subjects. Throughout the article is a gallery of some of her most prolific works, a love letter to humanity and that raw, completely Maier, honesty.