born 0441; 1840, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died Jan. 14, 1882, Staten Island, N.Y.
U.S. photographer.
He learned photography in Mathew B. Brady 's studio in New York City, and during the American Civil War he photographed on many fronts as one of Brady's team. Perhaps his best-known picture is Harvest of Death (1863), showing Confederate dead at Gettysburg. O'Sullivan left Brady's employ over the issue of receiving proper credit for his work. After the war O'Sullivan often portrayed vast landscapes. He took part in surveys in Panama as well as in the western and southwestern U.S. and was appointed chief photographer for the Treasury Department in 1880.