Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner, known for his portraits of Abraham Lincoln, was born in Paisley, Scotland, on October 17, 1821. Trained as a jeweler, he developed interests in chemistry and photography. At London’s Great Exhibition in 1851, he encountered the work of American photographer Mathew Brady—an influence on the career he would pursue across the Atlantic.
Gardner immigrated to the United States with his family in 1856 and began working in Brady’s New York gallery. His expertise in the demanding wet-plate photographic process made him a valuable member of the business, and in 1858 he took charge of Brady’s Washington, D.C., gallery. During the Civil War, he joined the photographers documenting military camps and the aftermath of battle, creating images that brought the conflict’s human cost into view.
In 1863, Gardner opened his own Washington studio. His work helped create an enduring visual record of the era, from wartime scenes to portraits of President Lincoln. On February 5, 1865, he photographed Lincoln in a sitting that produced some of the president’s most recognizable portraits, including the celebrated “cracked-plate” image. He also photographed the execution of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Gardner’s photographs remain a powerful record of the people and events that shaped a nation at war.
