Vivian Dorothy Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American street photographer. Maier worked for about forty years as a nanny, mostly in Chicago's North Shore, pursuing photography during her spare time. She took more than 150,000 photographs during her lifetime. During her lifetime, Maier's photographs were unknown and unpublished; many of her negatives were never printed. Maier's photographs were first published on the Internet in July 2008 on the image-sharing website Flickr, and the results went “viral”, with thousands of people expressing interest. Critical acclaim and interest in Maier's work quickly followed, and since then, Maier's photographs have been exhibited in North America, Europe, Asia and South America while her life and work have been the subject of books and documentary films. Here: This 1956 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a self-portrait of Maier in a series of mirrors at an unknown location. New research about Maier shows the enigmatic Chicago nanny was obsessive about honing her skills as a photographer starting in 1950. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1953 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a woman standing outside the New York Public Library in New York. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1957 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection a woman in a party dress walking towards a car in Miami. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1950s photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a girl with a soiled face at an unknown location. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1960s photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a couple having an argument on a Chicago street. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1953 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a police officer arresting two suspects on Christmas Eve in New York. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1960s photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows nuns on New York's Fifth Avenue. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1953 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a man doing a headstand in front of a poster advertising a strip show in New York. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This circa 1950 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier shows one of the first photographs Maier took as she began to teach herself photography while visiting France. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1954 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a newsstand vendor in New York. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1953 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows a couple riding in a horse-drawn carriage in New York. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)





This 1950s photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection shows Maier in a self-portrait as she looks into a storefront wearing a hat in New York. (Photo by Vivian Maier/Estate of Vivian Maier and John Maloof Collection via AP Photo)