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

Creauters from Outer Space

The Making Of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind The Original Film

Remarkable Photos Of Manhattan By Berenice Abbott From 1935

Inside Amazon's Very Hot Warehouse

The Best 16 Photos Of The Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2021

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid! Hundreds Descend On Central London For World Zombie Day Walk Through The Capital

Defense Attorney Haunts Tennessee Courtroom

Wayne Sorce's Cityscapes Captured NYC And Chicago In Gorgeous Color

Ohio Youth Of The 1970s – Lovely Photos Of Long-Haired Teenage Girls In Dayton From 1974-75

Russian Nerd Party Goes Wild In Photographs By Tanya Zommer

Cutest Finalists Of Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2021

The Breathtaking Geometry Of America From Above

Post Apocalyptic Views: Dutch Photographer's Lens Captures Graveyard Of French Warships

Tokyo Street Fashion

Harrowing Black And White Photos Show The Horrific Living Conditions In 1940s Glasgow Where Overcrowding Was Rife And Sewage Seeped Into Slums

Funny Underwater Pictures Capture Dogs Diving Head First Into Swimming Pool

Photographer by Ruth Orkin Captured Stunning Color Photographs of New York City in the 1950s

The Lost Golden Age: Soviet Russia, As Seen By Photographer Vladimir Sokolaev

Revealing Portraits of Heavily Tattooed People Who Normally Cover Their Whole Bodies

There’s A Trend Of Photoshopping Celeb Pics To Meet ‘Modern Beauty Standards’ And Some Say It’s Messed Up

Darth Vader In Disneyland

Girls and Boys With Their Color-Coded Things

Cruising Van Nuys Boulevard In The Summer Of 1972 In Stunning Black And White Photos By Rick McCloskey

Photographer Visits Famous Movie Scene Locations In Real Life

Photographer Creates A Magical World For Her Children Within Her Photo

Atmospheric Retro Images Of The USSR As Photographed By American Professor Thomas T. Hammond

22 Rare Photos You’ll Never See In Textbooks

Wedding Photo Shoot Goes Wrong After A Snake Makes A Surprise Appearance

Golden Christmas Tree

Rare Vintage Photos Of The Timberline Lodge, Stanley Kubrick’s Film Inspiration For "The Shining", In 1921