Vivian Maier was an American street photographer born in New York City in 1926. She spent much of her youth in France and returned to the U.S. in the 1950s. Maier worked as a nanny for over four decades in Chicago. During her private time, she obsessively documented urban life with her Rolleiflex camera. She took more than 150,000 photographs, most of them never developed during her lifetime. Her subjects included children, women, the elderly, the poor, and city architecture. Maier was extremely private and rarely showed her work to anyone. Her art remained unknown until 2007, when boxes of her negatives were discovered at auction. John Maloof, a young historian, began archiving and sharing her work online. Her photos quickly gained worldwide attention and critical acclaim. She is now considered one of the most important street photographers of the 20th century. Maier had a sharp eye for candid, emotional, and often ironic moments in daily life. Her work offers a unique window into mid-century American culture and society. Despite her posthumous fame, she died in obscurity in 2009, unaware of her legacy. Vivian Maier’s story remains a powerful symbol of hidden genius and artistic mystery.