James Montgomery Flagg

James Montgomery Flagg 1877-1960, American painter, illustrator, and author, b. Pelham Manor, N.Y. He studied in New York City, in England, and in Paris. Returning to New York, he rapidly won a reputation as an illustrator of versatility, vivacity, and technical skill, contributing to St. Nicholas, Judge, Life, and other magazines. As official artist for New York state during World War I, he designed 45 military posters.

Bibliography: See his autobiography, Roses and Buckshot (1946).

Flagg, James Montgomery (1877–1960), painter and illustrator of fiction both for children in St. Nicholas and for adults, as well as a poster artist, whose best‐known patriotic work, done for recruiting in World War I, depicted the finger‐pointing Uncle Sam declaring, “I want you.” Flagg's own books include Yankee Girls Abroad (1900), City People (1909), and an autobiography, Roses and Buckshot (1946).

Flagg, James Montgomery (1877–1960) artist and illustrator, born in Pelham Manor, New York. His depiction of Uncle Sam in a 1917 poster has become an American icon. Flagg used his own face as a model for the familiar picture of the red-white-and-blue clad, white-haired, finger-pointing, intensely staring, sharply featured figure above the words “I Want You for U.S. Army.” The poster was created through an organization of artists called the Division of Pictorial Publicity, which produced posters for various federal agencies. It was reprinted and widely displayed during World War II, when Flagg also designed recruitment and Red Cross posters. Flagg, whose illustrations were found on the covers of and inside all the leading magazines of the day, was also known for his pictures and portraits of celebrities, as well as for numerous short stories.