Pho·tog Friday: Vivian Maier (Part II)

Pho·tog Friday: Vivian Maier (Part II)

Maier, Vivian, Self-Portrait; New York City, 10.18.1953
As we learned in Part I of this "Pho·tog Friday" series, the life of Vivian Maier has slowly become more clear since 2007 due to the research many art collectors, such as John Maloof.  There are many mysterious aspects regarding Maier's life; right down to where she was actually born!

Many of Maier's friends thought that she was born in France due to her accent although she was actually born in New York City on February 1, 1926.  However, her mother, Maria Jaussaud, and father, Charles Maier, were both French and Austrian. By 1930, Maier's father was out of the picture and she traveled back and forth with her mother between the U.S. and France several times; specifically to the small town of Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur, which is where her mother was from.  

Maloof has had a difficult time tracking Maier's timeline for multiple reasons.  Namely, Maier was a very private person and she was in the habit of giving false names.  For example, on many different dry cleaning receipts, Maier would spell her last name differently or give a separate name all together.  At a particular store, Maier gave the name of, "Miss V. Smith"!  Another aspect that still poses as a challenge for Maloof, along with others who are trying to track her life, is the fact that she became estranged from her relatives.  Although, due to the stories told by those who knew Maier, different receipts from Maier's purchases, census readings, and pay stubs, there are few aspects of Maiers life that are clear.

When Maier was twenty-five years old (1951), she moved from France to New York City, where she worked in a sweatshop.  For the next five years, Maier photographed many aspects of life in The Big Apple; from a young many feeding pigeons, pedestrians on the street, walking the park, couples in love, men being arrested; Maier captured a little bit of everything.


Stay tuned for the next chapter of Maier's life in the next Pho·tog Friday post!
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01. Maloof, John. "Vivian Maier Photographer | Official Website of Vivian Maier | Vivian Maier Portfolios, Prints, Exhibitions, Books and Documentary Film." Vivian Maier Photographer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
02. "Vivian Maier." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
03. Maloof, John. "Documentary Film Finding Vivian Maier | Vivian Maier Photographer." Vivian Maier Photographer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
  
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