Vivian Maier: Lost Photographs Of 1950s New York


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries

Found after her death, Vivian Maier’s photographs capture New York City in motion.

Two years before Vivian Maier died in 2009 at age 83, 30,000 of her negatives were bought at a Chicago thrift auction by former estate agent John Maloof. He was writing a book on Chicago history. Maier had been unable to pay the rental on a storage locker. So 100,000 of her unseen negatives housed in hundreds of boxes and undeveloped films were sold.

“I was wondering how I would find enough old photos to illustrate the book and tried my luck at a local junk and furniture auction house,” says Maloof, who waited two years to investigate his purchase. “However, I knew to keep them. I thought: ‘I’m resourceful. I’ll look at them later when I have more time. Fast forward two years later, that purchase had unearthed some of the finest street photography of the 20th century.”

Realising the cultural treasure trove he had discovered, Maloof tracked down the storage unit rented in Maier’s name. Before long he owned the former nanny’s sensational archive of New York and Chicago street photography from the 1950s.

A documentary on Vivian Maier by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, Finding Vivian Maier, was nominated for an Oscar in 2015 and has won numerous other awards.

More info: Vivian Maier h/t: flashbak


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Self portrait. Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Self portrait. Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries


Courtesy the Maloof Collection/Howard Greenberg Galleries

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

23 Striking And Surreptitious Photos Capture Street Scenes Of Pennsylvania In The 1970s

Mammal Photographer Of The Year 2020 Contest Gives Top Prize To Urban Fox Photo

Half-Underwater Photos Show The Aquatic Life Hiding Beneath The Water’s Surface

Milou van Groesen for W Magazine Korea, May 2012

A Landscape Photographer Turned The Camera On Himself To Take A Set Of Incredible Selfie While Visiting Some Of The World's Most Beautiful Destinations

Shadow Photos of Dogs Reveal Their 'Primal Nature'

Most Handsome, Best Dressed, Most Popular, Best Legs – Yearbook “Class Favorites” From The 1970s

Unseen Beatles Colour Pictures of First US Tour go on Sale

Eugene Atget – The Photographer Who Walked Fin de Siècle Paris

Sensual Fine Art Self Portraits by Beth Parnaby

Winners Of The Travel Photography Contest 2022 By The Independent Photographer

"The Owls Are Not What They Seem": Magical Pictures Of Owls By Daniel J Nevares

Guardian Readers' Travel Photography Competition: June 2016

A Photographer Is Using A Unique Method To Show The Shift From Day To Night Across Famous Cities In Spectacular Images

Spectacular Winning Photos Of The 2018 Nikon Small World Contest Reveal The Hidden Beauty Of A Microscopic World

Stunning Winning Photos From The 2025 Audubon Bird Photography Awards

This Photographer Captures Love Just As It Is

Zoe Saldana for Malibu Magazine

La-La Land: The Playful Side of Los Angeles in The 1970s and '80s

Photographer Hanabi Taikai Captures The Beauty Of Fireworks In Japan

Photographer Explores The Relationship Between Photography And Painting Through The Use Of Light

"Creatures Of The Cold": Spectacular Winning Photos Of The Annual Antarctic Photography Exhibition

Instagram Model Crafts Incredibly Detailed Photo Shoot Sets That She Later Uses To Take Self-Portraits

This Couple Shot Baby Photos With A Burrito And It's Hilarious

Stunning Award-Winning Nature Photos from the Global Photography Awards 2025

Meet Maria Oz – The Girl With Amazingly Big Eyes

The Bride Was Busy During The Pre-Wedding Shoot, So They Had the Groomsman Fill In For Her

Spot the Not: Body-Painting Artist Blends Nude Models in Various Landscapes

Atkins Ciwem Environmental Photographer Of The Year 2016 Winners

Amazing Photographs Of Carrie Fisher On A Fire Escape In New York City, 1977