A full-career retrospective on the work of Vivian Maier bringing together a selection of key
works from throughout her life and career. When Vivian Maier's archive was discovered in
Chicago in 2007 the photography community gained an immense and singular talent. Maier lived
in relative obscurity until her death in 2009 but is now the subject of films and books and
recognized as one of the great American photographers of the 20th century. Born in New York in
1926 she worked as a nanny in New York and Chicago for much of her adult life. It was during
her years as a nanny that she took many of the photographs that have made her posthumously
famous. Maier's incredible body of work consists of more than 150 000 photographic images
Super 8 and 16 mm films various recordings and a multitude of undeveloped films. Working
primarily as a street photographer Maier's work has been compared with such luminaries as
Helen Levitt Robert Frank Diane Arbus and Joel Meyerowitz. Drawing on previously unpublished
archives and recent scientific analyses this retrospective sheds new light on Maier's work.
With texts by Anne Morin and Christa Blümlinger this thorough look at Maier's entire archive
is organized thematically in sections that cover self-portraits the street portraits
gestures cinematography children colour work and forms. A valuable addition to the
continuing assessment of Maier's work this book is a one-volume compendium of her most
enduring images.
