Vivian Maier

Born in New York but raised for the most part in France, Vivian Maier (1926-2009) moved to the affluent north suburbs of Chicago to work as a nanny.  On her days off, she would travel to Chicago, visiting different neighborhoods and taking photographs.  Her subjects ranged from wealthy shoppers to the homeless.  Late in life Maier was unable to pay the rent for a storage unit so the contents of that unit were auctioned.  Those contents included over 100,000 negatives, hundreds of rolls of film, home movies and  audio tape interviews.  Not long after Maier’s death, her photography was made public and acclaimed by photographers, scholars and critics.  

Why this stop?  The Grand Avenue Red Line stop is in one of the neighborhoods where Vivian Maier photographed everyday Chicagoans.

Learn more about Vivian Maier and see examples of her photographic work in the Academy Award nominated documentary Finding Vivian Maier (currently streaming on IFC and AMC+). 

Connect — See Vivian Maier’s work firsthand at the Chicago History Museum  and at special exhibitions throughout the world.

Vivian Maier mural by Eduardo Kobra at 1651 W. North Avenue  Chicago IL