Sara Fuchs Professor Rafferty PH326 05/11/15 In 1822, Mathew Brady was born of Irish decent in New York. Throughout his early years, he held multiple positions within the art field. He opened his own studio specializing in daguerreotypes in 1844. Brady was able to create a name for himself as he was best known for taking photographs of celebrities As his popularity within the photography field grew, Brady expanded his location range and opened up a studio in the Washington D.C. area in the late 1850's. These celebrities would include such highly recognizable names as Edgar Allen Poe, Susan B. Anthony, and several United States presidents. One president, Abraham Lincoln, became a loyal client of Mathew Brady's. With the photograph "Abraham Lincoln, 1860" (as pictured below), Lincoln publically recognized Brady for the large part that he had played in his accomplishment to gain office. As such a client, Lincoln allowed Brady to photograph him several times which lead to the images that are now on the five dollar bill and the penny. Although he was a recognizable name in early 1861, Brady packed up his belongings along with a few photographers of his choice and decided to follow the Civil War. Brady, and his fellow …show more content…
This is where money could be made and the public wanted to see. He went against what the people of the time and photographed Abraham Lincoln. This came to a shock to most as Lincoln was supposed to look less than the standards that were considered acceptable. Taking on this challenge, Brady was able to take the on the challenge to have Lincoln perceived as acceptable to the public’s eyes. He then moved to the next challenge of his time and opened everyone’s eyes to the mass destruction of the Civil War. He let the mass devastation influence his work creating images that produced incredible emotions with each