Mathew Brady- father of photojournalism

 Mathew Brady

Mathew Brady, 1823-1896, is known as the father of photojournalism. He was the first photographer to the stars, so to speak. His portraits of such historical figures as Ulysses S. Grant, George Custer, Walt Whitman, and, his most famous, Abraham Lincoln, made him one of the most sought after photographers of his era.

Abraham Lincoln

Walt Whitman

Brady also photographed those not so famous with the same flare and dignity he gave to people such as Lincoln and Whitman.

Miss Bateman

Sister M. M. Joseph

Brady is best known for having captured the American Civil War in photographs. While all were originally attributed to him, Brady actually had upwards of 20 photographers who went into the field and took most of the photos. One of them, Alexander Gardner, went on to become the official photographer of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Brady's display in New York City that he called, "The Death of Antietam" drew people who wanted to see the death and destruction of the war. These photos showed the opposite of the romanticized and sterile version most newspapers were publishing at the time. 

After the war, people wanted to forget and Brady was forced to close his studios and eventually sell off his photos to the US government for a total of $25,000, enough to pay off much of his debt. Brady died alone and nearly penniless in 1896. He is buried at the Congressional Cemetery near Tip O'Neil, J. Edgar Hoover, and John Phillip Sousa. Much of his work has been preserved by the Smithsonian Institute and the Library of Congress.