I love this mural in Bucktown. Just half a block west of Ashland, you'll find Vivian Maier involved in the pastime that brought her such great posthumous fame and acclaim.
Maier took over 100,000 photos in her lifetime. Most of these were in Chicago, though she did take some in other cities. She was a mystery in life; most of her life she spent as a nanny in Chicago, though at one time she was a house cleaner for Phil Donahue. It may have been serendipity that her failure to pay rent on a storage unit led to its being auctioned off. A few folks in Chicago purchased her thousands of negatives, and they went viral after on of the new owners posted them online.
Maier is one of the most important amateur photographers in American history--probably the most important, history. I like this little mural, depicting Maier engaging in her life's work. We're lucky she quietly documented Chicago's history from the 50's through 80's. There are documentaries to learn more about her, and your can find her work exhibited on occasion in various places. read more