George N. Barnard

George Norman Barnard (December 23, 1819 – February 4, 1902) was an American photographer most well known for his photographs from the American Civil War era. He is often noted as G. N. Barnard.

Early life Barnard was born into a farming family in Coventry, Connecticut on December 23, 1819. His father died in 1826 and he grew up with relatives in a nearby town, apprenticing at various jobs in the family owned businesses. He married in 1843 and moved to Oswego, New York, where he briefly got into the hotel business before turning to photography.

Career Starting his business in New York State in 1843, Barnard was one of the first to use daguerreotype, the first commercially available form of photography, in the United States.

A fire in 1853 destroyed the grain elevators in Oswego, New York, an event Barnard photographed. Historians consider these some of the first "news" photographs. Barnard also photographed Abraham Lincoln's 1861 inauguration.

Post-war After the war, Barnard ran photography studios in Ohio, Charleston, South Carolina and Chicago. His Chicago studio burned down in the 1871 city fire.

Gallery of work