James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

, and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to

cartooning A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1917 poster of

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

created for

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

recruitment during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

James Montgomery Flagg as Captain Kidd at the Illustrators' Ball, 1917

Life and career

Flagg was born on June 18, 1877, in

Pelham, New York Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,078, an increase from the 2010 census. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages ...

. He was enthusiastic about drawing from a young age, and had illustrations accepted by national magazines by the age of 12. By 14, he was a contributing artist for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine, and the following year was on the staff of another magazine, ''

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

''. From 1894 through 1898, he attended the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

. He studied fine art in London and Paris from 1898 to 1900, after which he returned to the United States, where he produced countless illustrations for books, magazine covers, political and humorous cartoons, advertising, and spot drawings. Among his creations was a comic strip that appeared regularly in ''Judge'' from 1903 until 1907, about a tramp character titled Nervy Nat.Marschall, Rick (May 1985). "The Comic Obsessions of James Montgomery Flagg". ''

Nemo, the Classic Comics Library ''Nemo, the Classic Comics Library'' was a magazine devoted to the history and creators of vintage comic strips. Created by comics historian Rick Marschall, it was published between 1983 and 1990 by Fantagraphics. ''Nemo'' ran for 31 issues (th ...

'', No. 11. In 1915, he accepted commissions from Calkins and Holden to create advertisements for Edison Photo and Adler Rochester Overcoats but only on the condition that his name would not be associated with the campaign. Grave of James Montgomery Flagg

He created his most famous work in 1917, a poster to encourage recruitment in the

during

. It showed

pointing at the viewer (inspired by a 1914 British recruitment poster showing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose) with the caption "I Want YOU for U.S. Army". Flagg had first created the image for the July 6, 1916, cover of ''

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper ''Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'', later renamed ''Leslie's Weekly'', was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1855 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank ...

'' with the headline "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" Over four million copies of the poster were printed during World War I, and it was revived for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Flagg used his own face for that of Uncle Sam (adding age and the white goatee), he said later, simply to avoid the trouble of arranging for a model. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

praised his resourcefulness for using his own face as the model. Flagg had a neighbor, Walter Botts, pose as a model for the strong shoulders, and thrusting forefinger of the piece. In 1917, he also attended the Illustrators' Ball, one of many annual

masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or ''bal masqué'') is an event in which many participants attend in costume wearing a mask. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tra ...

s in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The artists-only event was held in the 1845-built Hotel Brevoort in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, a neighborhood where many artists and cartoonists lived at the time. That year, the theme was " Kaleidoscopic Ball," with no specific requirements for costumes. Flagg dressed as the Scottish sailor

Captain William Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

. At his peak, Flagg was reported to have been the highest-paid magazine illustrator in America. He worked for ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' and ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'', which were two of the most popular U.S. journals. In 1946, Flagg published his autobiography, ''Roses and Buckshot''. Apart from his work as an illustrator, Flagg painted portraits which reveal the influence of

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

. Flagg's sitters included

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

and

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

; his portrait of

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

now hangs in the Great Hall of the National Portrait Gallery. In 1948, he appeared in a

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the curr ...

magazine ad which featured the illustrator working at an easel in his New York studio with a young lady standing at his side and a tray with an open bottle of Pabst and two filled glasses sat before them. Toward the end of his life, when deteriorating eyesight forced him to give up his art, "he often took out his frustrations on his friends and himself." He died on May 27, 1960, in New York City. He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York City.

Legacy

Fort Knox, Kentucky Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

, has a parade field named for and dedicated to Flagg. It is called Flagg Field and located behind the Fort Knox Hotel. Fort Knox is also the home of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, which borders Flagg Field. Flagg spent summers in

Biddeford Pool, Maine Biddeford Pool is a large tidal pool, located off Saco Bay (Maine), Saco Bay south of the mouth of the Saco River on the south coast of Maine. It is approximately 6 miles southeast of downtown Biddeford, Maine, Biddeford, to which it is connected ...

, and his home, the James Montgomery Flagg House, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1980.

Gallery

File:How long has he been lost.jpg, Illustration in ''St. Nicholas Illustrated'' magazine, January 1898. File:William McKinley Vanity Fair 2 February 1899.jpg,

President McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Hist ...

, illustration in '' Vanity Fair'' magazine, 1899 File:James Montgomery Flagg The World As Seen By Him 1905 Cornell CUL PJM 1148 01.jpg, The World (As Seen By Him), 1905 File:Smart set 1911 09.jpg, ''

The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and G ...

'' (Magazine cover) 1911 File:Officer 666 book cover.jpg, The cover of the popular novel ''Officer 666'' by

Barton Currie Barton Wood Currie (March 8, 1877 – May 7, 1962) was an American journalist, author, and book collector. Writer of hundreds of articles and stories for publications such as ''New York Evening World'', ''New York Evening Sun'', ''Harper's Week ...

and Augustin MacHugh, 1912 File:J. M. Flagg, I Want You for U.S. Army poster (1917).jpg, Flagg's famous

recruitment poster () File:UnlceSamGirlsandBoys.jpg,

Boys and Girls! 1917 war poster File:FlaggDontReadHistoryMakeIt.jpg , The Navy Needs You! Don't Read

American History The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

, Make It! (1917 or 1918) File:Sow victory poster usgovt.gif, Columbia urges planting

victory garden Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany during World War I ...

s (1918) File:JamesMontgomeryFlagg-UncleSamWithEmptyTreasury1920Large.jpg,

with empty Treasury (1920) File:FlaggWakeUpAmerica.jpg , Wake Up America,

Civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...

Calls Every Man Woman and Child! (1917) File:TogetherWeWinJMFlaggWWI.jpg, Together We Win
(

, 1917 or 1918) File:James Montgomery Flagg (1870-1960) poster celebrating Wake Up America Day on April 19, 1917 with Jean Earle Mohle dressed as Paul Revere.jpg, Wake Up America Day on April 19, 1917, with Jean Earle Mohle dressed as Paul Revere File:JudgeMagazine23Jun1923.jpg, ''

'' cover from 1923. Flagg was a prolific cover artist for ''Judge''. File:Afficheamericaine2.jpg,

US Army poster showing Uncle Sam holding spanner. Presumably released between

VE day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

and

VJ day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

(1945)

References

External links

* * * * *
James Montgomery Flagg on JVJ Publishing site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flagg, James Montgomery 1877 births 1960 deaths American editorial cartoonists American comics artists Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) American poster artists People from Pelham, New York Art Students League of New York alumni Painters from New York City Vanity Fair (British magazine) artists 20th-century American painters American male painters Members of The Lambs Club 20th-century American male artists

Life and career

Legacy

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links