CHICAGO – Ten distant cousins of a Chicago nanny whose gritty street photography became a posthumous sensation have been identified, potentially increasing the number of her rightful heirs.
Vivian Maier died in 2009 at age 83. The Chicago Tribune reports 300 pages of fresh genealogical research were filed Monday in Cook County Probate Court, including records from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If a judge deems the 10 beneficiaries, they could inherit profits from Maier photo sales. Three cousins were identified earlier.
Maier died penniless, childless and unmarried, complicating questions of inheritance. She took over 150,000 pictures, most of which were never developed. Writer and historian John Maloof helped discover her work after buying hundreds of cartridges of the undeveloped film in a storage-locker auction.
A July 17 hearing is scheduled in the case.
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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com
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