ROGERS PARK — Vivian Maier, the famous reclusive street photographer, spent her final years in Rogers Park, capturing the beaches and people of the neighborhood.
Now one of her prints could be yours.
Organizers of the Artists of the Wall Festival, which is scheduled for Fathers Day weekend, plan to raffle off a limited-edition print during a fundraiser Saturday to benefit the Loyola Park advisory council scholarship fund.
Maier's photo captures a twisted, wood-slat fence protruding from the sand along the sunny Rogers Park lakefront.
"She loved to hang out at East Lake Terrace" beach, organizer Eve Brownstone said. "The last six to seven years of her life she lived in Rogers Park. She continued to have her camera around her neck and took lots of photos here."
Maier died in 2009, but her voluminous work had yet to be recognized with critical acclaim. It wasn't until recent years the true genius of her work was realized, Brownstone said.
"Vivian Maier was a true innovator with film," said Bill Morton, a photographer and member of the Loyola Park advisory council.
Morton said at this year's Artists of the Wall Festival, in which participants paint sections of a 600-foot beachfront wall, photos from neighborhood photo bugs would be featured on monitors in a tent on the beach.
The winner of the raffle for Maier's print, estimated to be worth $2,500, will be revealed the final day of the festival, June 15.
The fundraiser and silent auction is planned for 4-6 p.m. Saturday at Towbar, 1500 W. Jarvis Ave. The 2013 documentary "The Vivian Maier Mystery" will be shown at 6 and 7 p.m. for $10. Raffle tickets cost $1, or three tickets for $10.
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