The photographs of Mathew Brady became icons of American identity. One of his portraits of Abraham Lincoln has entered the collective memory of the world. Today, it is one of the best known and most widespread images of all. It adorns the five-dollar note and is a symbol of American capitalism. Of the 19 presidents of the USA between 1825 and 1896, Brady portrayed 18, with only the 9th president, William Henry Harrison, not included. He died in office, three days before the official photo session with the well-known portraitist. His name, however, is linked to one of the most traumatic events in American history, the American Civil War of 1861-1865.
Brady was born in New York as the son of Irish immigrants and began an apprenticeship with the portrait painter William Page at the age of 16. Here he developed his passion for the human physiognomy, which only found its artistic expression after another encounter with Samuel F. B. Morse. With Morse, Brady was confronted with the methods of daguerreotype, the first technical imaging process. He was fascinated by the technical imaging of human beings and over the next decades he actively participated in the development of photography and also changed imaging technologies several times. In addition to commissioned works in his photo studio opened in New York, Brady worked on a "Gallery of Illustrious Americans", which established his reputation and earned him a number of international awards as a photographer.
With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the photographer's subject changed. In the beginning he tried to earn money with the Civil War by an advertising campaign, in which he offered families to photograph their sons before they went to war. Under the motto "You can tell, how soon it may be too late", he worked with the families' fear of loss. But then he found his artistic calling and established himself as a war photographer who documented the battles and human sacrifices of war on both sides. He received permission from Abraham Lincoln to accompany the Northern troops, but with the restriction that he had to pay for the financing himself. With his camera and portable darkroom, Brady moved into the direct battlefield and gave a face to the horror of the first technological war in human history. The project grew and by the end of the war in 1865 Brady employed a total of 17 assistants who had produced over 10,000 photographic plates. Brady invested over $100,000 in the campaign in the hope that the government would subsequently pay for the costs incurred. But after the end of the war, the cruelty of the battlefields became taboo and Brady was granted only $25,000 by the U.S. government in 1875. Brady died completely impoverished and blinded in New York, but his photographs of the American Civil War live on.
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_photograph_by_Brady_in_-_(MeisterDrucke-1062690).jpg "Portrait of American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) photograph by Brady in the 19th century by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "The First Ironclad Gunboat Built in America, 1861 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "President Abraham Lincoln, Washington, D.C. by Mathew B. Brady")
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_Feb_9_63_-_(MeisterDrucke-1756584).jpg "Rear Admiral Jas. Smith, U.S.N. Ch. Bu of Jacks & (---illeg.) Feb 9. 63. by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Lieutenant General Scott, General-in-Chief U.S. Army, & Staff by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Portrait of an Unidentified Middle-Aged Man with Muttonchop Whiskers, Wearing Wire-Rimmed Glasses by Mathew B. Brady")
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_politician_and_leader_of_the_Free_State_Party_of_Ka_-_(MeisterDrucke-916504).jpg "James Henry Lane (1814-1866), politician and leader of the Free State Party of Kansas, full-length portrait, with gun by Mathew B. Brady")
_politician_and_leader_of_the_Free_State_Party_of_Ka_-_(MeisterDrucke-916504).jpg)
_(bw_photo)_-_(MeisterDrucke-36056).jpg "Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) by Mathew B. Brady")
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![Maj. Gen. [Andrew Atkinson] Humphreys. Chief of Gen. Meade](/kunstwerke/300px/Mathew_B_Brady_-_Maj_Gen_Andrew_Atkinson_Humphreys_Chief_of_Gen_Meades_Staff_-_(MeisterDrucke-1712446).jpg "Maj. Gen. [Andrew Atkinson] Humphreys. Chief of Gen. Meade")
![Maj. Gen. [Andrew Atkinson] Humphreys. Chief of Gen. Meade](/kunstwerke/400w/Mathew_B_Brady_-_Maj_Gen_Andrew_Atkinson_Humphreys_Chief_of_Gen_Meades_Staff_-_(MeisterDrucke-1712446).jpg)
.jpg "Lewis Cass, from")
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.jpg "Lieutenant General Scott, General-in-Chief, U.S. Army and Staff by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1594875).jpg "Brevet Major-General John Henry Martindale (1815 - 1881) by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-166743).jpg "General Winfield Scott Hancock, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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![Gen. [Romeyn B.] Ayers by Mathew B. Brady](/kunstwerke/300px/Mathew_B_Brady_-_Gen_Romeyn_B_Ayers_-_(MeisterDrucke-1712073).jpg "Gen. [Romeyn B.] Ayers by Mathew B. Brady")
![Gen. [Romeyn B.] Ayers by Mathew B. Brady](/kunstwerke/400w/Mathew_B_Brady_-_Gen_Romeyn_B_Ayers_-_(MeisterDrucke-1712073).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1706047).jpg "Untitled (Portrait of a Seated Man) by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "The 164th New York Volunteers at General McMahon")
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.jpg "Abraham Lincoln seated, in profile by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-300686).jpg "3 Rebel Prisoners behind Breastworks, 1863 by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-51153).jpg "Portrait of Winfield Scott Hancock (1824-86) by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Richard L. Cramer, Company I, Fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Albumen print of General McClellan at Headquarters, Gen. Morrell")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-242492).jpg "Portrait of General George B. McClellan by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1706374).jpg "Untitled (Portrait of Two Girls) by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-98849).jpg "Portrait of Edwin M. Stanton (1814-69) by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Onondaga by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1709559).jpg "Untitled (Portrait of Man) by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General W. S. Hancock and Staff by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-63401).jpg "Portrait of Nathaniel Prentiss Banks (1816-94) by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Fortifications, Manassas, Occupied by 13th Mass. by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-157674).jpg "Portrait of Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln and Major J. A. McClernand by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-180796).jpg "Group of 22nd New York Volunteers, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-271002).jpg "Portrait of Abraham Lincoln by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General Heintzelman Entertaining Friends at the Convalescent Camp, Alexandria, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Jefferson Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy, 1859-60 by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-230972).jpg "General James H. Wilson and Friends, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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![[Kate Chase Sprague] by Mathew B. Brady](/kunstwerke/300px/Mathew_B_Brady_-_Kate_Chase_Sprague_-_(MeisterDrucke-1711739).jpg "[Kate Chase Sprague] by Mathew B. Brady")
![[Kate Chase Sprague] by Mathew B. Brady](/kunstwerke/400w/Mathew_B_Brady_-_Kate_Chase_Sprague_-_(MeisterDrucke-1711739).jpg)
.jpg "Millard Fillmore, from")
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.jpg "Building Winter Quarters at City Point, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-315397).jpg "Managers of the House of Representatives of the Impeachment, 1868 by Mathew B. Brady")
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_from_The_History_of_the_United_States_Vol_II_by_Charl_-_(MeisterDrucke-50076).jpg "Winfield Scott (1786-1866) from")
_from_The_History_of_the_United_States_Vol_II_by_Charl_-_(MeisterDrucke-50076).jpg)
.jpg "Summer Camp Scene, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Cornelia Van Ness Roosevelt by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Allan Pinkerton at Antietam after the Battle, 1862 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Gunboat of Alexandria by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Camp of the Union forces at Centreville, Virginia, Winter of 1861 and 1862 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "William Henry Milburn by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Filling Their Canteens, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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_at_the_battle_of_Chickamauga_20th_Septembe_-_(MeisterDrucke-264124).jpg "General George Henry Thomas at the battle of Chickamauga, 20th September 1863 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Crew of the original")
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.jpg "Group of Unknown Federal Officers by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-183399).jpg "General Jefferson C. Davis and Staff by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "President Lincoln in the last week of his life, 1865 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Washington in the 1860")
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.jpg "General A. T. A. Torbert and Staff, 1864 by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-185720).jpg "General William Tecumseh Sherman, engraved after a photograph by William Wellstood by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General Ulysses Simpson Grant, engraved after a daguerreotype by Robert E. Whitechurch by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1718472).jpg "Benjamin Hoid (?) by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-42858).jpg "Portrait of Philip Henry Sheridan by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Brady")
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.jpg "General Zachary Taylor, from")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-151736).jpg "Officers of the 4th New York Volunteers, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Portrait of William Makepeace Thackeray by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General O. B. Wilcox and Staff, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-94583).jpg "Portrait of Gideon Welles (1802-78) by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Edgar Allan Poe by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Daniel Webster, from")
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.jpg "Smith O")
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.jpg "Unidentified bald man with moustache, printed in vignette-style by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Major General George G. Meade and Staff, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Major General Ord with his wife and child, at the mansion formerly occupied by Jefferson Davis, Richmond, Virginia, 1865 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Edwin F. Hatfield, D.D. by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General Charles Devens and Staff by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Execution scene by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-166682).jpg "The camp of the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry near Fort Slocum by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Major General Hooker at the Battle of Chancellorville, Virginia, 3rd May 1863 by Mathew B. Brady")
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 American Politician 32nd US Secretary of State (albumen photo) - (MeisterDrucke-146435).jpg "James Donald Cameron, American Politician, 32nd US Secretary of State by Mathew B. Brady")
 American Politician 32nd US Secretary of State (albumen photo) - (MeisterDrucke-146435).jpg)
.jpg "Generals Grant, Badeau, Rawlins, Comstock and Porter, and Colonels Duff, F. D. Dent, Robinett and Parker by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-98978).jpg "Portrait of Judson Kilpatrick by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Provost Marshall")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-300207).jpg "Admiral John A. Dahlgren by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Viewing Returning Troops to Washington, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Union Brig. Gen. John M. Schofield, late 1861 by Mathew B. Brady")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-371419).jpg "First U.S. Coloured Infantry by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Army Wagon Going to Commissary Depot, City Point, for Supplies by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "The Post Office, Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Headquarters of the New York Herald in the Field at Culpeper Court House by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Grape Vine Bridge built by US engineers by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Officer of the Federal Army, 1861-5 by Mathew B. Brady")
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 c1864 (sepia photo) - (MeisterDrucke-207248).jpg "Union Martyrs, Photographs of Union Generals Killed During the War by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General Ulysses Simpson Grant, engraved from a photograph, illustration from")
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.jpg "Andrew Johnson, engraved from a photograph by Thomas Phillibrown by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Portrait of the Composer William Vincent Wallace, 1855 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Both Sides, the Cause by James F. Gibson")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-237298).jpg "General David B. Birney, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "Thomas Davidson Jr. by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-321977).jpg "Belle Boyd by Mathew B. Brady")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-109165).jpg "Portrait of General George Henry Thomas by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General Charles Griffin and Officers, 1861-65 by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General E. V. Sumner and Staff by Mathew B. Brady")
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.jpg "General David Hunter (1861-65) by Mathew B. Brady")
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