Today, the name Vivian Maier is synonymous with American street photography. But her work didn't become famous until 2009, two years after someone bid $400 on a box of negatives in Chicago. Maier, with her twin-lens Rolleiflex camera held cautiously to her body, took more than 150,000 photos from the 1940s through the 1970s. They show street life in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and many cities around the world. But Maier also turned the lens toward herself, as seen in this undated black-and-white portrait.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Maier spent a large part of her life -- about 40 years -- as a nanny in suburban Chicago. She took this self-portrait in 1953.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Maier photographs her reflection in a mirror in 1954. Her work was discovered in 2007 by John Maloof, a 26-year-old real estate agent who bid on a box of negatives at an auction house in Chicago. Maloof eventually amassed more negatives, prints and undeveloped rolls of film.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Although Maier, seen here in 1955, wrote her name on pieces of paper inside the box Maloof had obtained, he still struggled to learn more about her. But then in 2009, he stumbled upon her obituary in the Chicago Tribune.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Perhaps more striking than Maier's images themselves is the fact that she seemingly had little to no interest in showing them to others. "It's common for people to be afraid of putting something that's vulnerable out into the world, to have others comment, critique, etc.," Maloof said. "Because the work for her was all that she wanted to do. Whatever the back end of that wasn't important for her." Maloof said Maier did actually develop a few of the negatives for herself.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
In this self-portrait from the 1950s, Maier photographs herself in the corner of a street, likely unnoticed by those around her. In fact many, if not all, of Maier's self-portraits produce this conflicting and unsettling notion of feeling invisible or alone even when surrounded by people.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
This image, taken in 1955, shows Maier's shadow cast upon the wall of a building. Her self-portraits are literally and metaphorically self-reflexive, often doused with not only light but also an aura of confusion and wonder.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Maier photographs herself in what appears to be a glass window in 1954. However, there's more. Who are those other two women we see? And where exactly are they -- on the inside somewhere, or maybe on the outside? This kind of fantastical and imaginative element is characteristic of Maier's images, leading viewers' minds down a path of endless curiosities.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Maier expertly manages to stand in the right place at the right time for this self-portrait from 1955. Maier never married, nor she did she have any children of her own. Those who knew Maier often present a wide range of memories and thoughts about her, lending to her posthumous rendering as a mysterious, perplexing and complex personality.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Throughout a number of Maier's self-portraits, there is the motif of a mirror, including in this one from 1956, where our eyes are left to confront layers upon layers of mirrors.
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
In this photo from 1971, Maier takes a self-portrait of her shadow in the sand. "I think (people) are fascinated that (Maier) was a nanny and was such a prolific photographer that did such incredible work -- and never showed it." Maloof said. "As far as art goes, that's saying a lot about the intentions of the creator of this. Most people that make art, they do it for an audience, they want to show somebody, they want to show this piece of music or they want to show this painting or whatever after they finish it. ... But (Maier) didn't want to do that."
Vivian Maier/Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
Maier captured this self-portrait in 1963. We will never truly know what Maier's intention, if any, was when she took photos. But what has become apparent to most people who view her images around the world is that Maier was someone with a raw eye for documentation. "She did it for herself," Maloof said. "She did art for art's sake."
