Women In Motion supports the Vivian Maier retrospective

Born in 1926 in New York City, Vivian Maier observed American society in the 1950s, capturing its major social and political changes, the rise of the American dream and modernity through the lens of her ever-ready Rolleiflex. Yet, her photographs—mostly shot in the streets of the New York City and Chicago, where she worked as a governess —had never been shown before. In fact, due to a lack of financial means, Vivian Maier developed very few photographs during her lifetime, instead storing negatives in boxes piled up in storage. Reserved and private by nature, Vivian kept her passion to herself, apparently never attempting to make a living from her photographs.

Maier’s work therefore remained largely unknown to the public until 2007, when her assets were auctioned for non-payment on the unit in which they were stored. One of the buyers, John Maloof, recognized the value of the negatives and digitized them. He then published the book Vivian Maier, Street Photographer, which caught the attention of the American media. Starting in 2011, exhibitions dedicated to Vivian Maier’s work made her a star posthumously. In 2021, the Musée du Luxembourg organized the first worldwide retrospective devoted to the photographer.  

Women In Motion is committed to supporting the arts and culture by putting women in the spotlight. The program organizes exhibitions, studies and publications in an effort to shift perspectives and advance the cause of gender equality. Discover all the projects supported by the Women In Motion program on the Supporting initiatives for change page.