Brady, Mathew B.

Region: United States    Period: 1850–1890    Occupation: Photographer   Mathew B. Brady
* c. 18 May 1822, Warren County, New York, United States   † 15 January 1896, New York, United States

Mathew B. Brady was an American photographer. He began his career as a daguerreotypist and opened his photographic studio in New York in 1844. He photographed numerous prominent figures. The portrait he made of presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln was widely distributed and became influential.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Brady decided to document the conflict with the camera. He financed and organised the project, although the vast majority of the photographs were taken by a team of photographers working for him, including Alexander Gardner and Timothy H. O'Sullivan. A substantial number of the photographs were made with stereo cameras. The stereoviews were published by E. & H. T. Anthony and Company.

Brady had hoped that his photographic archive would be acquired by the government after the war, but this did not happen, and the project became a financial failure. Brady ultimately died in poverty.

The photographs produced by Brady and his team form an important visual record of the American Civil War and represent a major milestone in the history of war photography.

Related items: Anthony, E. & H.T.  Stereo camera