Vivian Maier: Unseen Works

On March 12, 2026, the major solo exhibition Unseen Work by Vivian Maier (1926–2009), one of the most legendary street photographers of the 20th century, opens at Fotografiska Shanghai. Coinciding with the centenary of her birth, this debut exhibition in Shanghai will systematically present 200 vintage and modern prints black-and-white and color photographs, a selection of  previously unseen images from her travels in Asia (shot in Hong Kong and Macao, China), a special screening of motion-picture footage captured with her 8mm camera, and personal artifacts – including her Rolleiflex twin-lens camera and her Leica 35mm, and iconic hat - inviting audiences into the rich and hidden narrative behind her lens.

An American of French and Austro-Hungarian extraction, Vivian bounced between Europe and the United States before coming back to New York City in 1951. Having picked up photography just two years earlier, she would comb the streets of the Big Apple refining her artistic craft. By 1956 Vivian left the East Coast for Chicago, where she’d spend most of the rest of her life working as a caregiver. In her leisure Vivian would shoot photos that she zealously hid from the eyes of others. Taking snapshots into the late 1990′s, Maier would leave behind a body of work comprising over 150,000 negatives.

The exhibition, curated by Anne Morin, is presented by Fotografiska Shanghai in collaboration with diChroma photography. Structured along thematic lines, the exhibition traces the full arc of Maier’s multi‑phase career.