Reva and David Logan Gallery of Documentary Photography opens at the J-School

Starting in the late 1940s, Vivian Maier, an unmarried nanny in Chicago, obsessively took more than 100,000 photographs documenting everyday life in the mid-twentieth century. Not seen until she died in 2009, her work soon became a worldwide Internet sensation. She is now considered one of the century’s most accomplished street photographers.

This exhibit, of never-before-seen photographs Maier took of the daily newspapers of her hometown Chicago, was curated from the Jeffrey Goldstein collection and honors a major gift to the Graduate School of Journalism from the Reva and David Logan Foundation.

Photography professor Ken Light worked for years with David and his son Jonathan, to bring the late David Logan’s exceptional and rare collection of photography books to UC’s Bancroft Library. A $3.1 million bequest from the Logan family also established a chaired professorship and funding to ensure that North Gate will remain a regular venue for exhibitions which Ken will continue to curate.

This exhibition celebrates the gift from the Logan family, also from Chicago. At newsstands, on the street, tucked under an arm, delivered on a bike, or scattered in the wind, newspaper front pages shouted for attention and could capture the mood or energy of the day.

Wednesday’s reception will begin with jazz and hors d’oeuvres at 5:00 p.m. A lecture will follow at 6:15 p.m.

The exhibition will be on view through May 1, 2014.