Alexander Gardner (photographer)

Alexander Gardner
Alexander Gardner photographed c 1863
Born	(1821-10-17)October 17, 1821 Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died	December 10, 1882(1882-12-10) (aged 61) Washington D.C., United States
Resting place	Glenwood Cemetery, District of Columbia, United States
Nationality	Scottish
Citizenship	United Kingdom, United States
Occupation	Photographer, jeweller, life insurance
Spouse(s)	Margaret Gardner
Children	2
Parent(s)	James and Jean Gardner

Alexander Gardner (October 17, 1821 – December 10, 1882) was a Scottish photographer who immigrated to the United States in 1856, where he began to work full-time in that profession. He is best known for his photographs of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and the execution of the conspirators to Lincoln's assassination.

Alexander was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, on 17 October 1821. He became an apprentice jeweller at the age of 14, lasting seven years. Gardner had a Church of Scotland upbringing and was influenced by the work of Robert Owen, Welsh socialist and father of the cooperative movement. By adulthood he desired to create a cooperative in the United States that would incorporate socialist values. In 1850, Gardner and others purchased land near Monona, Iowa, for this purpose, but Gardner never lived there, choosing to return to Scotland to raise more money. He stayed there until 1856, becoming owner and editor of the Glasgow Sentinel in 1851. Visiting The Great Exhibition in 1851 in Hyde Park, London, he saw the photography of American Mathew Brady, and thus began his interest in the subject.

Gardner and his family immigrated to the United States in 1856. Finding that many friends and family members at the cooperative he had helped to form were dead or dying of tuberculosis, he stayed in New York. He initiated contact with Brady and came to work for him that year, continuing until 1862. At first, Gardner specialized in making large photographic prints, called Imperial photographs, but as Brady’s eyesight began to fail, Gardner took on increasing responsibilities. In 1858, Brady put him in charge of his Washington, D.C. gallery.

Abraham Lincoln became the American President in the November 1860 election and along with his election came the threat of war. Gardner, being in Washington, was well-positioned for these events, and his popularity rose as a portrait photographer, capturing the visages of soldiers leaving for war.