Historical hobbyist John Maloof bought box of undeveloped negatives at a local auction for $380. He had no idea what he would find.
Inside the box, John discovered the work of Vivian Maier, a twentieth century nanny. Taken in the 1950s and 1960s, these were more ordinary photos. As opposed to standard photos of neighborhoods and children playing, Vivian used her photographic skills to document the struggles of city life during this era. Her work is comprised of photos of the rich, the poor, political rallies, and even city poodles. Vivian’s talent at capturing emotions in photography was such that she should have been a world famous, award-winning photographer.
John Maloof had to do some digging to discover who took these amazing photos. Unfortunately, he learned that Vivian passed away in 2009 at age 83, after suffering a head injury from slipping on ice. After learning about this tragedy, John went on to make her work famous, and her photography has since gained international attention.
Additionally, John has created a documentary about Vivian Maier and her unique and fantastic work, entitled Finding Vivian Maier. The film came out in 2013, and scored an astounding 95% positive rating on rotten tomatoes.
