Though there’s an element of tragedy in this — Maier died in poverty, a batty old woman sitting on a park bench — one can’t help but admire the purity of her vision. She created for herself, not giving a fig for recognition or recompense. “She got the life she wanted,” one of her former charges remarks, “she didn’t have to compromise one bit.” In these uber-consumerist times, her choice comes across as nothing short of heroic.