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Alfred R. Waud
Alfred R. Waud
Alfred R. Waud

Alfred R. Waud

American, 1828 - 1891
BiographyAn illustrator of Civil War and frontier South and West themes, Alfred Waud was born in London, England, and studied in London at the School of Design at Somerset House and the Royal Academy. Waud is regarded as one of the outstanding reportorial draughtsman of the 19th century, noted for his accuracy and ambitious coverage of his subject matter.

Upon his arrival in America, he went to work for Harper's Weekly and, assigned to the Army of the Potomac, covered events from the beginning to the end of the Civil War. He was well-liked and accepted by the soldiers and captured numerous on-the-spot illustrations for the New York Illustrated News. In one case, his drawing of a battle field was so valuable strategically that a Union general used his to plan his attack strategy. In 1865, was acclaimed by Harper's "as the most important artist-corespondent of the Civil War.

In 1866, he began touring the antebellum South and west to the Rockies, recording Indian and pioneer life. He also went into the Mississippi River Valley and the Dakota Territory, but after 1882, suffered ill health and ceased to travel.

A large collection of his work is in the Waud Collection of the Library of Congress.

Source:
Peggy and Harold Samuels, "Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West"
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"

In the days before photo-journalism, it was the job of the artist-correspondent, or special artist, as he was sometimes called, to make a visual record of current events.

The War Between the States created an unprecedented demand for the skills of the special artist. Young men trained in the craft of engraving or drafting were employed in great numbers by the publishers of Harper's, Leslie's, the New York Illustrated News, and the London Illustrated News.

Perhaps the single special artist who left to posterity more sketches of the War Between the States than any other was the Englishman Alfred Waud, who covered the Army of the Potomac for Harper's Weekly for most of the duration of the war. The astounding number of twenty-three hundred field sketches by him are housed in the Library of Congress, the gift to the nation of J. Pierpont Morgan.

Born in London in 1828, Waud studied scene painting at the Schools of Design at Somerset House and the Royal Academy. When he joined the New York Illustrated News in 1861 he was sent to Washington to cover war-related developments. He worked for them for less than a year, at which time he accepted the offer of Harper & Brothers to make drawings of hostilities for Harper's Weekly.

In 1866 Waud traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on assignment by Harper's to cover the early efforts at reconstruction. He was in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Waud never returned to England to live. He died in Marietta, Georgia, where he had gone in an attempt to improve his failing health.

Source: Charleston Renaissance Gallery
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