Mathew B. Brady
Mathew B. Brady, self-portrait, circa 1875
Born	1822 Warren County, New York, USA
Died	January 15, 1896 (aged 73) New York City, New York, USA
Occupation	photographer, photojournalist
Nationality	USA
Spouse(s)	Juliette Handy Brady

Mathew B. Brady (1822 - January 15, 1896), was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and the documentation of the American Civil War. Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This is a list of notable Photographers who already have articles Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South He is credited with being the father of photojournalism. Photojournalism is a particular form of Journalism (the collecting editing and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast that creates images in order to tell ^[1]

Early years

Brady was born in Warren County, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, Andrew and Julia Brady. Warren County is a County in the US state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls New York Metropolitan Statistical Area The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate He moved to New York City at the age of 17. The City of New York By 1844, he had his own photography studio in New York, and by 1845, Brady began to exhibit his portraits of famous Americans. He opened a studio in Washington, D.C. in 1849, where he met Juliette Handy, whom he married in 1851. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Brady's early images were daguerreotypes, and he won many awards for his work; in the 1850s ambrotype photography became popular, which gave way to the albumen print, a paper photograph produced from large glass negatives most commonly used in the American Civil War photography. The daguerreotype (original French daguerréotype) is an early type of Photograph, developed by Louis Daguerre, in which the image is exposed directly The ambrotype process (from Greek ambrotos, "immortal" or amphitype is a photographic process that creates a positive photographic The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method In 1859, Parisian photographer André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri popularized the carte de visite and these small pictures (the size of a visiting card) rapidly became a popular novelty as thousands of these images were created and sold in the United States and Europe. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri ( March 28, 1819, Paris — October 4, 1889) was a French photographer who started his photographic Note in French '''carte de visite''' refers to Business card or Visiting card.

Brady and the Civil War

Brady's efforts to document the Civil War on a grand scale by bringing his photographic studio right onto the battlefields earned Brady his place in history. Despite the obvious dangers, financial risk, and discouragement of his friends he is later quoted as saying "I had to go. A spirit in my feet said 'Go,' and I went. " His first popular photographs of the conflict were at the First Battle of Bull Run, in which he got so close to the action that he only just avoided being captured. Background Brig Gen Irvin McDowell was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to command the Army of Northeastern Virginia.

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken by Brady on February 27, 1860 in New York City, the day of Lincoln's Cooper Union speech. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting The City of New York The Cooper Union Speech, or Address of American President Abraham Lincoln was delivered on February 27, 1860, at Cooper Union

He employed Alexander Gardner, James Gardner, Timothy H. O'Sullivan, William Pywell, George N. Barnard, Thomas C. Roche and seventeen other men, each of whom were given a traveling darkroom, to go out and photograph scenes from the Civil War. Alexander Gardner ( October 17, 1821 &ndash December 10, 1882) was a Scottish and American Photographer. James or Jim Gardner is the name of James Gardner (musician, musician and composer James A Timothy H O'Sullivan (c 1840 &ndash January 14 1882) was a Photographer prominent for his work on subjects in the American Civil War and William Redish Pywell (b June 09, 1843, d 1887) was a 19th Century American photographer The American Civil War (1861&ndash1865 was the third War in history to be caught on Camera. Thomas C Roche (1826–1895 was a Photographer known for his photographs of the American Civil War. A darkroom is a workspace usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle made dark to allow Photographers to use Light -sensitive materials to develop film Brady generally stayed in Washington, D.C., organizing his assistants and rarely visited battlefields personally. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D This may have been due, at least in part, to the fact that Brady's eyesight began to deteriorate in the 1850s.

In October 1862, Brady presented an exhibition of photographs from the Battle of Antietam in his New York gallery entitled, "The Dead of Antietam. " Many of the images in this presentation were graphic photographs of corpses, a presentation totally new to America. This was the first time that many Americans saw the realities of war in photographs as distinct from previous "artists' impressions".

Following the conflict, a war-weary public lost interest in seeing photos of the war, and Brady’s popularity and practice declined drastically.

Later years and death

Brady, just before his death.

During the war Brady spent over $100,000 to create over 10,000 plates. He expected the U. S. government to buy the photographs when the war ended, but when the government refused to do so he was forced to sell his New York City studio and go into bankruptcy. Congress granted Brady $25,000 in 1875, but he remained deeply in debt. Depressed by his financial situation, loss of eyesight and devastated by the death of his wife in 1887, he became very lonely. Mathew Brady died penniless in the charity ward of Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, at five o'clock, on January 15, 1896, from complications following a streetcar accident. The City of New York Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year

Brady's funeral was financed by veterans of the 7th New York Infantry. The 7th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an Infantry Regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D. The Congressional Cemetery is an historic Cemetery located at 1801 E Street SE in Washington D C.

Levin Corbin Handy, Brady's nephew by marriage, took over his uncle's photography business after his death. Levin Corbin Handy (August 1855 &ndash March 26 1932 was an American Photographer who worked during the 19th and early 20th century

Legacy and people photographed

Grave of Mathew Brady.

The thousands of photographs Mathew Brady took have become the most important visual documentation of the Civil War, and have helped historians better understand the era.

Brady photographed and made portraits of many senior Union officers in the war, including Ulysses S. Grant, Nathaniel Banks, Don Carlos Buell, Ambrose Burnside, Benjamin Butler, Joshua Chamberlain, George Custer, David Farragut, John Gibbon, Winfield Hancock, Samuel P. Heintzelman, Joseph Hooker, Oliver Howard, David Hunter, John A. Logan, Irvin McDowell, George McClellan, James McPherson, George Meade, David Dixon Porter, William Rosecrans, John Schofield, William Sherman, Daniel Sickles, Henry Warner Slocum, George Stoneman, Edwin V. Sumner, George Thomas, Emory Upton, James Wadsworth, and Lew Wallace. During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss Banks ( January 30, 1816 September 1, 1894) was an American Politician and Soldier Don Carlos Buell (March 23 1818 &ndash November 19 1898 was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23 1824 September 13 1881 was an American soldier railroad executive inventor industrialist and politician from Rhode Island, Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5 1818 January 11 1893 was an American Lawyer and Politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain ( September 8, 1828 February 24, 1914) was an American college Professor from the State of David Glasgow Farragut ( July 5 1801 &ndash August 14 1870) was the first senior or "flag" officer of the United States Navy John Gibbon ( April 20, 1827 &ndash February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil Winfield Scott Hancock ( February 14 1824 &ndash February 9 1886) was a career U Samuel Peter Heintzelman ( September 30, 1805 &ndash May 1, 1880) was a United States Army General. Joseph Hooker ( November 13, 1814 &ndash October 31, 1879) was a career United States Army officer fought in the Mexican-American Oliver Otis Howard ( November 8, 1830 &ndash October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union David Hunter (July 21 1802 &ndash February 2 1886 was a Union general in the American Civil War. For other persons with similar names see John Logan. John Alexander Logan ( February 8, 1826 &ndash December 26 Irvin McDowell ( October 15, 1818 &ndash May 4, 1885) was a career American army officer, famous for his defeat during George Brinton McClellan ( December 3 1826 October 29 1885) was a major general during the American Civil War. James Birdseye McPherson ( November 14, 1828 &ndash July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a General George Gordon Meade ( December 31, 1815 &ndash November 6, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved David Dixon Porter ( June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Admiral who became one of the most William Starke Rosecrans ( September 6, 1819 &ndash March 11, 1898) was an inventor coal-oil company executive diplomat politician and John McAllister Schofield (September 29 1831 &ndash March 4 1906 was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20 1819 &ndash May 3 1914 was a colorful and controversial American politician Union General in the American Civil War For the American tennis player see Henry Slocum (tennis Henry Warner Slocum ( September 24 1827 &ndash April 14 George Stoneman Jr ( August 22, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a career United States Army officer a Union cavalry general Edwin Vose Sumner (January 30 1797 &ndash March 21 1863 was a United States Army officer who became a major general and the oldest field commander George Henry Thomas ( July 31, 1816 &ndash March 28, 1870) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Emory Upton ( August 27, 1839 &ndash March 15, 1881) was a United States Army General and military strategist prominent James Samuel Wadsworth (October 30 1807 &ndash May 8 1864 was a philanthropist politician and a Union general in the American Civil War. Lewis "Lew" Wallace ( April 10, 1827 February 15, 1905) was a lawyer governor Union general in the American Civil

On the Confederate side, Brady photographed P.G.T. Beauregard, Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, Lord Lyons, James Henry Hammond, and Robert E. Lee. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (ˈboʊrɪgɑrd ( May 28, 1818 &ndash February 20, 1893) was a Louisiana -born author civil servant Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21 1824 &ndash May 10 1863 was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and probably the James Longstreet (January 8 1821 &ndash January 2 1904 was one of the foremost Confederate Generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons 1st Viscount Lyons, GCB, GCMG, PC, DCL (Born 26 April 1817 Lymington, Hampshire - Died James Henry Hammond ( November 15, 1807 November 13, 1864) was a politician from South Carolina. Robert Edward Lee (January 19 1807 &ndash October 12 1870 was a career United States Army officer, an Engineer, and among the most celebrated (Lee's first session with Brady was in 1845 as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, his final after the war in Richmond, Virginia. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state )

Brady also photographed Abraham Lincoln on many occasions. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal His Lincoln photographs have been used for the $5 dollar bill and the Lincoln penny. The United States five-dollar bill ($5 is a denomination The Lincoln cent is the current one cent coin of the US Dollar.

After the Civil War, many of the plates Brady used became the glass in greenhouses, and the pictures were lost forever.

References

• Panzer, Mary (1997). Mathew Brady and the Image of History. Washington, D. C. : Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-58834-143-7, LCC TR140.B7 P36 1997. The Library of Congress Classification ( LCC) is a system of Library classification developed by the Library of Congress.  

External links

• Mathew Brady biography at American Memory of the Library of Congress
  • Selected Civil War photographs by Brady and his contemporaries at American Memory
• Mathew Brady Photographs More than 6,000 photographs available in the Archival Research Catalogof the National Archives and Records Administration
• Mathew Brady's World - biography, timeline and analysis of Brady's work at the Smithsonian Institution
  • Mathew Brady's portraits at the National Portrait Gallery
• Mathew Brady biography with large photograph collection
• BRADY'S NATIONAL GALLERY OF DAGUERREOTYPES An 1850 advertisement from The Daguerreian Society web site
• PHOTOGRAPHY—BRADY'S DAGUERREAN SALOON A description of his gallery (1853) from The Daguerreian Society web site
• M. B. BRADY. PHRENOLOGICAL CHARACTER AND BIOGRAPHY An 1858 "phrenological profile" of Brady from The Daguerreian Society web site
• STILL TAKING PICTURES An 1891 reminiscence by Brady from The Daguerreian Society web site
• Mathew Brady at Find A Grave