A New Book of Stunning Street Portraits by Vivian Maier

Stand in Maier’s shoes as she traveled the world.


Though she worked in obscurity, the cult of street photographer Vivian Maier has exploded since her negatives were discovered in 2007, with several recent books and a documentary paying homage to her humble but acute style. The latest collection of Maier’s photos takes an obvious but effective approach: photos of subjects looking directly into the camera or at Maier. Though many of Maier’s portraits prove her to have been a master at getting photos when people seemed oblivious to her presence, Eye To Eye (CityFiles Press) shows that Maier didn’t shy away from making contact.

This set of portraits and engaging street scenes also shed a little more light on Maier’s life. We see that in 1959 she traveled throughout Asia, then to Yemen and Egypt and on to Italy and France. Many of the overseas photos included in this book were shot in France, mostly in the Champsaur Valley of the French Alps. We see her move from New York City in the ’50s to Chicago in the ’60s.

There’s a noticeable progression in Maier’s shooting style over the course of the 15 years or so represented by the photos in Eye to Eye. The earlier shots tend to be more direct, tightly composed, and very straightforward. By 1967 the photos get looser. It looks like she’s shooting with a wider lens, allowing more background, more people, and more commentary into the frame. The later photos have a stronger voice, a greater sense of the times (protest signs, newspapers), and of Maier hitting on particularly whimsical, if not slyly critical, moments.

This book may not be the best place to start for those interested in getting a sense of Maier’s work—try Out of the Shadows or Vivian Maier: Street Photographer if you’re just getting started—but it’s an excellent addition for those who have earlier books and want more.

All photos from CityFiles Press Eye to Eye: Photographs by Vivian Maier/Jeffrey Goldstein Collection

New York City, New York, 1955
 

 

New York City, New York, 1955
 

New York City, New York, about 1955
 

Chicago, Illinois, 1963
 

France, 1959
 

France, 1959
 

France, 1959

Yemen, 1959
 

Asia, 1959
 

France, 1959
 

France, 1959
 

France, 1959
 

Eye To Eye was compiled by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams, authors of Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows. These photos, like those from Out of the Shadows, are from the Jeffrey Goldstein Collection.

 


If you buy a book using a Bookshop link on this page, a small share of the proceeds supports our journalism.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate