When Vivian Maier died in 2009 at the age of 83, a short obituary in the Chicago Tribune identified her as a "photographer extraordinaire" but left it at that. Her photographs had never reached the mainstream; in fact, much of her work remained undeveloped.
By chance, artist John Maloof stumbled up on a box of her negatives at an auction house and eventually realized there was something special about them. He shared the images with photographers and gallerists, and eventually Vivian Maier's work started getting the attention it deserved. At last, Maier is now considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, and you can see her evidence of that in "Unseen Work," an incredible new show at Fotografiska in the Flatiron District through September 29.
The Fotografiska show is the first major retrospective of Maier’s work in the U.S., and it’s packed with 230 photographs and video clips that explore the late artist’s extraordinary talent. The images range from the early 1950s to the late 1990s, documenting post-war America and the facade of the American dream.