Introduction
Studying photography from a young age under many teachers, including the famous Samuel F. B. Morse who is credited with introducing photography in America, Brady quickly took to the profession. Quickly becoming famous for his portrait works, he is known for being among the first photographers to chronicle U.S. History through photography.
Brady's true claim to fame lies in his eagreness to document the American Civil War through photography by bringing a mobile photographic studio straight to the battle lines. He is credited with having said, "I had to go. A spirit in my feet said 'Go,' and I went," [1] in response to the many warnings from his friends and colleagues.
To achieve this goal of chronicling the war, he employed the help of a large team of photographers so as to have a comprehensive documentation of the war. Despite the fact that many different photographers took the photographs during the war, as he took on a role more like a project manager than a photographer, when the images were released they were marked as "Photographed by Matthew Brady." [2]
After the war's end, public interest in his photographs quickly died leaving Brady in a massive amount of debt that forced him to sell his studio and other assets. Even after the U.S. Government gave him $25,000.00 for his collection a few years later, his debts swallowed up every penny, which led to him dying penniless in the charity ward of a hospital in New York City. [3]
Despite the lack of public interest and respect for his work in those years, what Brady did has since come to be seen as an impressive project that chronicles war from a standpoint never before seen by the public and bringing photography into a world beyond portraits and posed photography.
[1] Matthew Brady: Wikipedia Article
[2]Matthew Brady, A Biographical Note: Library of Congress
[3]The American Civil War at Homestead
Other source: Brady and the Civil War: Brady's World
