Vivian Maier at Fola...

12:57 p.m.

05/08/17 - Vivian Maier (New York, 1926-2009) worked as a nanny for rich families in Chicago. She died in poverty and completely alone. Today thousands of fans admire her photos of New York and Chicago. The buzz around her was increased even more by the 2014 documentary "Finding Vivian Maier", which catapulted her to stardom and began an unexpected debate: Who should benefit from her legacy? Jeffrey Goldstein bought 17.000 negatives and since 2012 has been negotiating with galleries and museums for U$S 500.000 a year. A few days ago, a judge ordered that Maier's work can no longer be sold, moved or destroyed till a relative of hers is approved by court. In the meantime, her work will remain in the hands of the Public Administrator of Cook County. While we don't know what's to happen with her work in the future, we are lucky enough to enjoy a few of her photos currently on display at Fola.

Maier took almost 100.000 photos during 5 decades, but her work remained hidden and unknown her entire life. She took her first photos when she lived in France, in 1949, with a Kodak Brownie. She would then buy a Rolleiflex in New York. In spite of those "simple" tools, her photos look very much professional.

As she lived in the houses of the families she worked for and moving was frequent, most of her negatives remained undeveloped. In 2007, her possessions were offered in public auction and were bought my many buyers, among them John Maloof, who, as Jeffrey Goldstein, bought 10.000 negatives and dedicated his time to organize her archive and spread her artistic legacy.

Maloof supervised the exhibition at Fola, which displays many of her photos, probably the most viralized ones in photo history. As it is usual in Fola, no individual signs give information on the works, so in that same way we present the best shots here...