Who’s that girl? The forgotten archive everyone's talking about

When John Maloof came across the collection of negatives at an auction in Chicago he had no idea what they were, but bought them anyway.

What they turned out to be was one of the most exciting discoveries of street photography in history. The incredible collection totaled more than 100,000 negatives shot primarily on the streets of Chicago between the 1950s and 1970s. Surprisingly raw, rich in detail and beautifully framed, they are attributed to a woman called Vivian Maier, who worked as a nanny in the city, was of French-Austrian parentage and seems to have had few friends or family. Since the launch of a blog devoted to her work, Maier's black-and-white, often humorous photographs have made her recently one of the most talked-about names in photography circles and beyond.

Maier died just before Maloof tracked her down, but he has since acquired more than 100,000 of her negatives, dozens of 8mm movies and an astonishing 2,000 rolls of unprocessed film. And the forgotten photographer is now the subject of her own solo show; Finding Vivian Maier: Chicago Street Photographer, is currently on show at Chicago Cultural Center (until 3 April).

Follow the link to Eye blog for a selection of Maier's photographs and an insight into her story