Mathew Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th-century American photographers, best known for his portraits and for his documentation of the American Civil War. He was born near Lake George in upstate New York, though his exact birthplace and date of birth are not definitively known. Brady's early life is somewhat obscure, but he moved to New York City in the late 1830s to learn the daguerreotype process, the first commercially successful form of photography.
Brady opened his own photography studio in New York in 1844, and due to his skill and pioneering techniques, he became a prominent figure in American photography. He photographed many famous individuals of his time, including Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Abraham Lincoln; his portrait of Lincoln from 1860 is particularly famous.
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Brady was determined to document the conflict. He hoped to create a comprehensive photo-documentation of the war that would show future generations the reality of battlefields and the soldiers who fought. Initially using his own funds, he organized a team of photographers to follow the troops and capture the war as it unfolded. This project was both costly and dangerous; Brady himself was nearly captured during the Battle of Bull Run.
Brady's efforts resulted in thousands of photographs, which provide an invaluable visual record of the Civil War era. However, his investment in the war project nearly bankrupted him, as the government showed little interest in purchasing the photographs after the war ended. Despite his financial struggles, Brady's work contributed significantly to the field of photojournalism and set a standard for documenting history through photography.
In his later years, Brady found it difficult to make a living and was forced to sell his New York City studio. He died in 1896 in the charity ward of Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, largely forgotten by the public and with his contributions to photography largely unrecognized at the time. Today, Mathew Brady is remembered as one of America's greatest photographers, and his Civil War photographs are considered some of the most valuable historical documents of that era.
