A fascinating glimpse into the life of an
eccentric, legendary photographer whose work came to prominence only after her
death.
Pamela Bannos, a
professor at Northwestern University, frames a fascinating portrait of Vivian Maier, the mysterious nanny who
was also a gifted, self-taught photographer who chose to remain unknown. The
biography also examines the astonishing circumstances and coincidences by which
Maier's photographs emerged into the public eye and her meteoric posthumous
rise in the art world. Bannos pieces together clues about the woman behind the
camera, dispelling myths that have been perpetuated and shaped since her death
in 2009.
Vivian Maier was--and continues to
remain--an enigma. Eccentric, fiercely independent and intensely private, she
was born illegitimately in Manhattan to a French mother, whose own birth was
illegitimate. Both Maier's mother and grandmother were live-in servants. That
paved the way for Vivian, throughout her adult life, to work as a nanny for
several well-to-do U.S. families. This enabled her to support herself while
also secretly pursuing her craft as a visual artist for decades. Those closest
to her knew that Maier liked to take photographs, yet no one knew the extent of
her passion and drive--and the scope of her talent. It was only near the end of
Maier's life that her work was discovered: photographs, thousands of negatives
and more than 1,000 rolls of undeveloped film.
Bannos's engrossing, meticulously researched biography sensitively reconstructs
Vivian Maier's very
private life in conjunction with her posthumous legacy as a visionary
photographer. Many questions remain and always will. However, Bannos's
comprehensive narrative ensures that Vivian Maier's story and the treasure
trove of her work will live on.
University of Chicago Press, $35.00 Hardcover, 9780226470757, 352 pages
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
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NOTE:
This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To
read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (November 3, 2017), link HERE