Maier was an “early poet of colour photography”.
He writes: “You can see in her photographs that she was a quick study of human behaviour, of the unfolding
moment, the flash of a gesture, or the mood of a facial expression – brief events that turned the quotidian
life of the street into a revelation for her.”
In her many years spent walking the streets of Chicago and New York, Maier produced around 40,000
Ektachrome colour photographs – none of which she showed to anyone. Through her unique eye for filling
a frame, Maier captures a whole host of curious and entertaining sights from around the cities in the years
between 1960 and 1984.
The reclusive photographer herself can be seen in many of the pictures, either prominently or lurking in the
background in her trademark fashion. Much of what is understood about her personality has been inferred
from her appearances in the pictures.
One photograph where a glimpse of Maier can be seen in a discarded mirror placed on a bouquet of flowers
by the side of the street betrays her knowing sense of humour. Another, more direct, portrait of herself
taken while having her hair cut reminds us that she was rather a strange woman after all.
The exhibition, Vivian Maier: Colour Photographs, is on at the Huxley-Parlour Gallery in London until 14
September 2019.