Washington, Augustus
1820-1875 · Contribution: 1846-1860
Daguerreotypist; planter; legislator
Built one of the most successful daguerreotype studios in antebellum Hartford, Connecticut, then emigrated to Liberia in 1853 to become one of the earliest professional photographers to work in West Africa, documenting the young republic’s political and merchant elite
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- c. 1820, Trenton, New Jersey
- Active since
- 1846
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- One of the earliest professional photographers to work in West Africa
Impact on the world
Washington was a pioneering Black photographer on two continents, documenting American abolitionism and then the leadership of an emerging African republic in the medium's earliest years.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Primary recordFind
Library of Congress (Picture This)
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