Vivian Maier (1926–2009) - New York, Spring 1959

A young boy with his nose in his ice cream. Street scene immortalized around a corner of Chicago by Vivian Maier. The ambiance is reminiscent of Ruth Orkin’s photographs, but Vivian Maier, unlike Ruth Orkin, was never recognized in her lifetime.

Black-and-white digital print with a glossy coating. Hot-surface lamination.
Old Misomex montage example (machine for reproducing films or CTP files - Computer to Plate - for imposing offset plates).
Printer SERAG. Medium resolution. Later print, 2009.
Format 19 x 15.5 cm, mounted on a wooden board 30 x 24 cm.
Label and annotations on the back.

She was a mere amateur whose complete body of work was discovered by chance in 2007 by a private individual, John Maloof, during an auction sale. More than 10,000 negatives tracing urban life scenes were then discovered. Since then she has been the subject of numerous posthumous editions and exhibitions.

At the heart of American society, in New York from 1951 and then in Chicago from 1956, this nanny observes the urban fabric with meticulous care, already reflecting the major social and political changes of its history.