Mathew Brady

Mathew B. Brady (May 18, 1822 – January 15, 1896) is one of the earliest photographers in American history, best known for his scenes of the Civil War

He studies under inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, who pioneers the daguerreotype technique in America

Brady opens his own studio in New York in 1844, and photographs Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Abraham Lincoln, among other public figures.

When the Civil War starts, his use of a mobile studio and darkroom enables vivid battlefield photographs that bring home the reality of war to the public.

Thousands of war scenes are captured, as well as portraits of generals and politicians on both sides of the conflict, though most of these are taken by his assistants, rather than by Brady himself.

After the war, these pictures go out of fashion, and the government does not purchase the master-copies as he had anticipated.

Brady's fortunes decline sharply, and he dies in debt.

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