Something really quite special. Another exceptional American photographer. Unknown and only discovered by chance - Vivian Maier

Shot after shot of simple beauty and immeasurable clarity; black and white photos, each one with limitless depth. No mediation between the lens and the subject either. There's nothing trespassing, no artifice, no overt signature, it's completely unadorned.

These are unwritten stories open to endless interpretations, which for me should always be the hallmark of any artwork, be it film, literature, drama, photography. It is at that point where I feel that the work has begun to inhabit me; it's not a promiscuous, fly by night relationship, it's far deeper, we grow together, I want to go back to learn more, experience more.

There's a Walker Evans echo here - a transcedence and a similar boldness, but whether that's due to coincidence or loose homage, we'll never know. But frankly, we should n't care. Maier's work stand up perfectly, with an integrity of it's own, that's probably more profound for such an, until latterly, unrecognised and uncelebrated artist.

An intensely private person, with a blessed eye for photographs, I'm awed by her. She should be a rush candidate for the pantheon of great American photographers. It will be a crime against photography if she's not ranked alongside Evans, Wee-gee, Ansel Adams, and Annie Leibovitz as an artist of especial vision and dedication.