The upshot is, a fellow by the name of John Maloof buys tens of thousands of old negatives for a few hundred bucks at an estate auction and realizes, after looking at them, that they are not only very good photographs, but are of obscure provenance. Anough digging, and he is able to at least sketch the photographer:
There has been at least one small exhibit since, and a book in the works due out in 2011. In the meantime, Maloof has posted some of the photos on the internet--a tiny fraction, but with something for everyone just the same. The site is worth a browse. These are the ones I like most (rehosted):Unfolding the Vivian Meyer mystery wrote:Vivian came here from France in the early 1930's and worked in a sweat shop in New York when she was about 11 or 12. She was not Jewish but a Catholic, or as they said, an anti-Catholic. She was a Socialist, a Feminist, a movie critic, and a tell-it-like-it-is type of person. She learned English by going to theaters, which she loved. She wore a men's jacket, men's shoes and a large hat most of the time. She was constantly taking pictures, which she didn't show anyone.
