# Mathew Benjamin Brady

> American photographer (c. 1823 – 1896)

**Wikidata**: [Q187850](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q187850)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathew_Brady)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/mathew-benjamin-brady

## Summary

Mathew Benjamin Brady was born on May 18, 1822, in Warren County[1][2][3]. He held citizenship in the United States[4]. He worked as a photographer, war photographer, photojournalist, and journalist[5][6][2][7], specializing in portrait photography and portraits[6].He died on January 15, 1896, in Manhattan[7][8][1][6][9][10][11][12][13][14][2]. The cause of his death was Bright's disease[15].

## Summary
Mathew Benjamin Brady was a pioneering American photographer best known for documenting the American Civil War and producing iconic portraits of historical figures, including President Abraham Lincoln. As one of the first photographers to extensively cover a major armed conflict, his work revolutionized visual journalism and shaped public perception of war and leadership.

## Biography
- **Born**: c. 1823 (exact dates vary: May 18, 1822, or January 1, 1823) in the United States  
- **Nationality**: American  
- **Known for**: Pioneering photojournalism and Civil War documentation  
- **Employer(s)**: Operated his own photography studio in New York City and Washington, D.C.  
- **Field(s)**: Photography, photojournalism, portrait photography  

## Contributions
- **Civil War Photography (1861–1865)**: Brady and his team captured over 10,000 images of battlefields, soldiers, and camp life, creating a comprehensive visual record of the conflict.  
- **Presidential Portraits**: Produced definitive portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and other political leaders, standardizing the use of photography for public figures.  
- **Studio Innovation**: Established one of the first commercial photography studios in the U.S., popularizing portrait photography among the elite.  
- **Publication**: Images were published in *The Photographic History of the Civil War* (1911), though Brady himself did not live to see the compilation.  

## FAQs
**What was Mathew Brady’s most significant contribution to photography?**  
Brady pioneered the use of photography as a documentary tool, particularly through his Civil War coverage, which humanized the conflict for the public.  

**How did Brady’s work influence historical preservation?**  
His photographs became critical primary sources for understanding the Civil War era, offering unfiltered glimpses of battlefields, soldiers, and political leaders.  

**What challenges did Brady face later in life?**  
Despite his fame, Brady struggled financially and was declared bankrupt in 1875. He died penniless in 1896 and was buried in a potter’s field.  

**Who were Brady’s notable subjects?**  
He photographed Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Walt Whitman, and P.T. Barnum, among others, establishing the template for modern celebrity portraiture.  

## Why They Matter
Mathew Brady’s work transformed photography from a niche art form into a powerful medium for storytelling and historical documentation. His Civil War images exposed the brutality of combat to the general public, influencing anti-war sentiment and setting precedents for future conflict photography. Without Brady, the visual record of 19th-century America—including its leaders, soldiers, and pivotal battles—would be far less accessible, altering how historians and the public engage with the era.

## Notable For
- **Firsts**: One of the first photographers to document a major war systematically.  
- **Cultural Impact**: Standardized presidential portraiture and elevated photography’s credibility as an art form.  
- **Legacy**: Posthumously recognized as a foundational figure in American visual history, with his collection preserved by the Library of Congress.  
- **Institutionalization**: Spent his final years in a mental asylum due to financial and personal struggles, underscoring the precarious nature of artistic livelihoods in the 19th century.  

## Body
### Early Life and Career  
Born circa 1823 in the United States, Brady apprenticed under daguerreotypist Samuel F. B. Morse in New York City during the 1840s. By 1844, he established his own studio, gaining renown for his precise and dignified portraits of elite clients.  

### Civil War Documentation  
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Brady secured unprecedented access to Union camps and battlefields. He employed a team of photographers, including Alexander Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan, to capture the war’s scale and devastation. Iconic images like *The Harvest of Death* (Gettysburg) and *Dead Confederates at Antietam* confronted viewers with the stark realities of combat.  

### Portraiture and Legacy  
Brady’s portraits of Lincoln, including the *O-92* image used on the penny, became synonymous with presidential dignity. His Washington, D.C., gallery hosted exhibitions that drew international acclaim, though the high costs of war documentation left him bankrupt.  

### Later Life and Death  
After the war, Brady’s financial troubles mounted, and he was institutionalized in 1875. He died on January 15, 1896, in a New York hospital for the insane. His body was later reinterred in Mount Vernon Cemetery by veterans who recognized his historical significance.  

### Posthumous Recognition  
Brady’s archive of over 10,000 glass-plate negatives was acquired by the U.S. government in 1944. Modern scholars credit him with pioneering the concept of “embedded” journalism and expanding photography’s role in public memory. His work remains a cornerstone of Civil War scholarship and a testament to photography’s power to shape historical narratives.

## References

1. online image library Nederlands Fotomuseum
2. Encyclopædia Britannica Online
3. Museum of Modern Art online collection
4. Union List of Artist Names
5. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art online collection
6. NMVW-collection website
7. The Fine Art Archive
8. RKDartists
9. International Standard Name Identifier
10. Virtual International Authority File
11. CiNii Research
12. [Source](https://www.newspapers.com/image/51908584/?article=812272ed-f606-45c9-bc94-d6f03c75d1ba&focus=0.29679993,0.71408546,0.43032166,0.98822236&xid=3355)
13. Find a Grave
14. [Geographicus Rare Antique Maps biographical dictionary of cartographers](https://www.geographicus.com/P/RareMaps/bradymathew)
15. Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
16. Brady, Mathew B.
17. Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana
18. SNAC
19. Brady, Mathew B. (1823?–15 January 1896), photographer and entrepreneur
20. Luminous-Lint
21. BnF authorities
22. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
23. [Source](https://www.documenta.de/en/retrospective/documenta_6)
24. CONOR.SI
25. CERL Thesaurus
26. LIBRIS. 2006
27. Source
28. Metropolitan Museum of Art
29. [Source](https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp89175/mathew-b-brady?role=art)
30. Smithsonian American Art Museum person/institution ID
31. [Source](https://ackland.emuseum.com/people/2411/mathew-b-brady/objects)
32. [online image library Nederlands Fotomuseum](http://collectie.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/fotografen)
33. [Source](https://pacscl.exlibrisgroup.com:48994/F/?func=find-b&request=000210612&find_code=SYS)
34. [Source](https://library.si.edu/art-and-artist-files)
35. [Source](https://library.nga.gov/permalink/01NGA_INST/1cl1g8d/alma994113581904896)