Maier's photographs extend from 1949 to the mid-1990s and most of her black-and-white images are of poor women and children.
Maier made somewhere between 3,000 to 4,000 photographs. About a third of Maier's work remains on rolls undeveloped. No one knows why she left most of her work unfinished. Maybe the same reason that she never cashed thousands of dollars in income tax refund checks.
This exhibit inspired me so much that I am going to return to the black and white format on several shoots this summer.
The Maier exhibit runs through April 3rd at the Chicago Cultural Center.