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Mathew Brady is one of the best-known US photographers, both in his time and in ours. He was a highly successful portrait photographer who essentially invented documentary Photography and photojournalism, and he contributed significantly to our understanding of the U.S. Civil War. Nevertheless, he ultimately sacrificed his wealth, his livelihood and his health for his art and died impoverished and underappreciated. Mathew Brady learned the new art of photography as a teen from inventor Samuel Morse. He quickly perfected the daguerreotype process and opened a portrait studio to much acclaim on Broadway in New York City in 1844. He convinced many of the most powerful and famous people of the day to sit for his portraits, including presidents, political leaders, businessmen, writers, military generals and more. In 1862 Mathew Brady presented his photographs from the Battle of Antietam to the public in New York City, entitling the exhibition "The Dead of Antietam." For the first time, average citizens saw the carnage of war. Since the photos required long exposures, the photos captured the moments before and after most of the action. The public saw the vibrancy of life in the faces of those prior to battle, juxtaposed with the gruesome images of contorted corpses on the battlefield. The New York Times commented, "If he [Brady] has not brought bodies and laid them in our door-yards and along our streets, he has done something very like it." While traditional journalists were sending tales filled with half-truths romanticizing the war, Brady's photographs spoke an undeniable and never before witnessed truth about how destructive and grotesque war is. After the war Mathew Brady found that people preferred to forget the war, and his expectation that his war photographs would be treasured and reap him financial reward proved elusive during his lifetime. Within a few years, he was forced to file bankruptcy. He eventually sold his glass negatives of the war to the United States government and received a grant from Congress for the rights to his photographs. His total take of just over $25,000 wasn't enough to cover his debts. By the time of his death in 1896, his contributions to photography and the documentation of U.S. history were recognized, but certainly underappreciated. His glass negatives in the hands of the government had been allowed to severely degrade, and a majority of the collection had been split up and sold off. He died poor and in relative obscurity.

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Q: Who was Matthew Brady the US photographer?
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Civil war photographer?

Matthew Brady


When was the famous US Civil War photographer Matthew Brady born?

Matthew B. Brady gained fame as a photographer due to his photographic "history" of many key events and battles of the US Civil War. He was a Northerner and the Union's public were able to see the horrible tragedies of that war via the pictures Brady sent to Northern newspapers and magazines. Brady was born in 1823 and died in 1896.


Who was the photographer derin the civil war?

most famous was Matthew Brady


Who was the chief photographer during the war between the states?

Matthew Brady


Who was widely credited for making the civil war visually documented?

Matthew Brady, the photographer


Who was Matthew Brady?

Mathew Brady is a/an Photographer,photojournalist


Who was the most famous photographer in the US Civil War?

Mathew Brady was a famous Civil War photographer.


What photographer documented the American civil war?

Matthew Brady and his associates were the main photographers of the American Civil War.


Who was the famous photographer that brought the horrors of the war to the door steps of the civilians in the cities durin the Battle of Antietam?

Matthew Brady.


What effect did the end of the Civil War have on Matthew Brady's personal finances?

He was the most celebrated photographer in the United States and for a time enjoyed prosperity.


When was Matthew Brady's birthday?

Matthew Brady's birthday is May 18, 1822.


What did Mathew Brady do in history?

Mathew Brady was photographer during the Civil War.