Object Details
- Exhibition Label
- Mathew Brady (1823?–1896) is the best-known photographer of the Civil War era. His reputation casts a large shadow over the history of the medium, obscuring the careers of people like Alexander Gardner or Timothy O’Sullivan. Brady was not only a pioneering photographic artist but he was also an extremely successful entrepreneur, realizing that the new technology of photography would galvanize the public. Brady had several studios in which he employed multiple photographers; he opened the Washington studio on Pennsylvania Avenue in 1858. His practice was almost exclusively portraiture. When the war broke out, however, Brady rode out to Bull Run with the Union army but failed in his attempt to take documentary views of the action.
- This standing profile of Brady was taken the day after the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 22, 1861. Although attributed to Brady, it must have been taken by one of his assistants, possibly Gardner.
- Date
- July 22, 1861
- Artist
- Mathew B. Brady, 1823? - 15 Jan 1896
- Sitter
- Mathew B. Brady, 1823? - 15 Jan 1896
- Topic
- Mathew B. Brady: Male
- Mathew B. Brady: Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer
- Mathew B. Brady: Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer\Daguerreotypist
- Portrait
- See more items in
- Catalog of American Portraits
- Credit Line
- Owner: National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
- Data Source
- Catalog of American Portraits
- Object number
- EXH.AG.14
- Type
- Photograph
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Medium
- Albumen silver print on card stock
- Dimensions
- Image: 16.5 × 10.8cm (6 1/2 × 4 1/4")
- Record ID
- npg_EXH.AG.14
- Metadata Usage
- Not determined