Alexander Gardner: Civil War Photographer

Brought into this world on October 17, 1821, Alexander Gardner’s work as a Civil War photographer has often been accredited to his mentor, the better-known Mathew Brady. Only recently has the true extent of Alexander Gardner’s work been acknowledged, receiving the credit that has been long overdue. Born in Paisley, Scotland, Gardner and his family were quite the movers. Relocating to Glasgow, Scotland, shortly after his birth, and later in 1850, to the United States with his brother James in attempt to establish a community in Iowa (CWO). In need of more money to fund the establishment, Gardner returned back to Glasgow and purchased what would soon become one of largest newspapers in the city, and one of the most known newspapers in the entire country, the Glasgow Sentinel. The newspaper made a considerable amount of profit for Gardner and he returned to the United States a year later in 1851, but this time paying another state a visit, New York.
Upon his return to the States, Gardner visited the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, where he would see the photographs of Mathew Brady for the very first time. Mathew Brady, a Civil War era photographer, known for his portrait photos and his long exposure times, captivated the eyes of Alexander Gardner (CWO). So

In 1856, he did just that, settling in New York. During this time, Mathew Brady had just opened a second New York studio, but Brady was suffering from diminishing eyesight, and he relied heavily on assistants to do the actual shooting. One of the assistants hired by Brady, was Alexander Gardner. At first, Brady used Gardner for his specialty in making enlargement photographs, also known as imperials that were priced at $750, but as Brady’s eyesight worsened, he eventually appointed Gardner to run an entire Washington gallery in 1858