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Alexander Gardner
Birth: 10-17-1821
Death: 12-10-1882
Biography
Alexander Gardner was born in Scotland and was early attracted to the field of photography. After emigrating to the United States, he was employed by Matthew Brady to manage his Washington, D.C. studio. The American Civil War encouraged his career as a photographer, with Gardner photographing studio shots as well as battle scenes. Gardner took some of the most evocative and graphic scenes of the war. After the war, in 1867, Gardner was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad and photographed their work as well as the Native American tribes they encountered along the route. Frances "Fanny" Seward records visiting his studio in Washington, D.C. in her 1866 diary.
Citations
Alexander Gardner was born in Scotland and was early attracted to the field of photography. After emigrating to the United States, he was employed by Matthew Brady to manage his Washington, D.C. studio. The American Civil War encouraged his career as a photographer, with Gardner photographing studio shots as well as battle scenes. Gardner took some of the most evocative and graphic scenes of the war. After the war, in 1867, Gardner was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad and photographed their work as well as the Native American tribes they encountered along the route. Frances "Fanny" Seward records visiting his studio in Washington, D.C. in her 1866 diary.