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[Charles James Napier, three-quarter length portrait, facing right]

description

Summary

Alternative identifications: G.F. (or Q.F.) Yung (cat. 5); Hunt.

Identified by Owen Blevins (12/2012) based on a similar image in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery (London).

Transfer; U.S. War College; 1920; (DLC/PP-1920:46153).

Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress).

Produced by Mathew Brady's studio.

In 1844, Mathew Brady opened a photography studio at the corner of Broadway and Fulton Street in New York. By 1845, he began to exhibit his portraits of famous Americans, including the likes of Senator Daniel Webster and poet Edgar Allan Poe. In 1849, he opened a studio at 625 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Brady's early images were daguerreotypes, and he won many awards for his work. In 1850, Brady produced The Gallery of Illustrious Americans, a portrait collection of prominent contemporary figures. The album, which featured noteworthy images including the elderly Andrew Jackson at the Hermitage, was not financially rewarding but invited increased attention to Brady's work. When the Civil War started, he used a mobile studio and darkroom enabled vivid battlefield photographs. Thousands of war scenes were captured, as well as portraits of generals and politicians on both sides of the conflict, though most of these were taken by his assistants, rather than by Brady himself. After the war, these pictures went out of fashion, and the government did not purchase the master-copies as he had anticipated. Brady's fortunes declined sharply, and he died in debt.

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Tags

napier charles james daguerreotypes portrait photographs charles james napier charles james napier portrait length portrait vintage images 1844 three quarter length portrait medium full shot facing right 19th century 1840 s portraits mathew brady portraits 1840 s 1850 s men america first look into the camera daguerreotype portraits and views 1839 1864 photo ultra high resolution high resolution civil war national portrait gallery old pictures united states history library of congress facing right portrait
date_range

Date

01/01/1844
person

Contributors

Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896.
collections

in collections

Americans of 1840s

Pre-Civil War Mathew Brady New York and Washington DC Studio Portraits
create

Source

Library of Congress
link

Link

http://www.loc.gov/
copyright

Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication.

label_outline Explore Napier, National Portrait Gallery, Length Portrait

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napier charles james daguerreotypes portrait photographs charles james napier charles james napier portrait length portrait vintage images 1844 three quarter length portrait medium full shot facing right 19th century 1840 s portraits mathew brady portraits 1840 s 1850 s men america first look into the camera daguerreotype portraits and views 1839 1864 photo ultra high resolution high resolution civil war national portrait gallery old pictures united states history library of congress facing right portrait