Document Type
Essay
Publication Date
Spring 2026
Abstract
Vivian Maier, despite being unknown during her lifetime, has undoubtedly become one of the most impactful photographers of the twentieth century. Her vast oeuvre has been shown worldwide, her bold and unconventional photographs rapidly capturing the attention of millions. Maier primarily photographed the streets of Chicago in the 1950s to 70s, snapping people and storefronts on her iconic Rolleiflex camera. Her most well-known works are perhaps her self-portraits, and her foreboding upward-shot street portraits have also taken the stage as some of her best work. However, people who knew her during her lifetime state that they knew almost nothing about her, and some didn’t know she took photographs at all; the mystery of the unknown woman who took remarkable photographs is one that even today fascinates art enthusiasts. She was exposed as a photographer shortly after she passed away, after thousands of rolls of her undeveloped film were bought in an auction house in 2007. Her story has been told countless times, but never from her: Vivian Maier has become an amalgamation of pieces of stories people shared about her and the marketable fantasy that she was rescued from being unknown forever.
Recommended Citation
Yuratich, Caroline, "Obscuring Vivian Maier" (2026). Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics. 44.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ethics_essay/44
Included in
Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Photography Commons
Comments
First prize winner (tie).