Mathew Brady American Civil War Photographs

The civil war as photographed by mathew brady.

Mathew brady american civil war photographs. Today we recognize mathew brady as a fundamental figure in war photography. Mathew brady also called mathew b. Mathew brady is often referred to as the father of photojournalism and is most well known for his documentation of the civil war. Brady opened his own studio in new york in 1844 and photographed andrew jackson john quincy adams and abraham lincoln among.

Best known for his scenes of the civil war he studied under inventor samuel f. The son of irish immigrant. Mathew brady 1822 96 was a well known 19th century american photographer who was celebrated for his portraits of politicians and his photographs of the american civil war 1861 65. During the civil war brady and his associates traveled throughout the eastern part of the country capturing the effects of the war through photographs of people towns and battlefields.

His photographs and those he commissioned had a tremendous impact on society at the time of the war and continue to do so today. Brady is almost a synonym for civil war photography. Civil war photographer mathew brady largely taught himself the finer points of the two pursuits that have linked his name to history. He eventually sold his work to congress for just 25 000 but remained deeply in debt at the time of his death in 1895.

The sociology of the american civil war can be viewed through a medium that was coming of age in the middle of the 19th century. 1823 near lake george new york u s died january 15 1896 new york new york well known 19th century american photographer who was celebrated for his portraits of politicians and his photographs of the american civil war. Because wet plate collodion negatives required from 5 to 20 seconds exposure there are no action photographs of the war the name mathew b. The library of congress has over 1 000 photographs of the civil war in its american memory collection.

Taking pictures and self promotion. Mathew brady civil war photographs mathew brady 1823 1896 was one of the most prolific photographers of the nineteenth century creating a visual documentation of the civil war period 1860 1865. Although brady himself actually may have taken only a few photographs of the war he employed many of the other well known photographers before and during the war. He and his employees photographed thousands of images including battlefields camp life and portraits of some of the most famous.

In total eight percent of all white males aged 13 to 43 living in america at the dawn of the civil war died during the conflict that s approximately 2 5 percent of the total american population. He spent over 100 000 funding his project to document the american civil war producing over 10 000 plates that form the basis of civil war photography.