James Montgomery Flagg
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James Montgomery Flagg
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.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
Flagg, James Montgomery, 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).
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James Montgomery Flagg
| James Montgomery Flagg | |
|---|---|
.jpg) James Montgomery Flagg, 1915, photographed by Arnold Genthe |
|
| Born | June 18, 1877 Pelham Manor, New York, United States |
| Died | May 27, 1960 (aged 82) New York City, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | artist and illustrator |
James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters.
Flagg was born in Pelham Manor, New York. He was enthusiastic about drawing from a young age, and had illustrations accepted by national magazines by the age of 12 years. By 14 he was a contributing artist for Life magazine, and the following year was on the staff of another magazine, Judge. From 1894 through 1898, he attended the Art Students League of New York. He studied fine art in London and Paris from 1898–1900, 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.[1]
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.[2]
He created his most famous work in 1917, a poster to encourage recruitment in the United States Army during World War I. It showed Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer (inspired by a British recruitment poster showing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose) with the caption "I Want YOU for U.S. Army". Over four million copies of the poster were printed during World War I, and it was revived for World War II. 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 praised his resourcefulness for using his own face as the model.
At his peak, Flagg was reported to have been the highest paid magazine illustrator in America.[3] 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. Flagg's sitters included Mark Twain and Ethel Barrymore; his portrait of Jack Dempsey now hangs in the Great Hall of the National Portrait Gallery. James Montgomery Flagg died in New York City and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Work
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President McKinley in Vanity Fair, 1899
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The Smart Set (Magazine cover) 1911
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Flagg's famous Uncle Sam recruitment poster
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Uncle Sam Boys and Girls! 1917 war poster
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Columbia urges planting Victory Gardens
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The Navy Needs You! Don't Read American History, Make It!
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Wake Up America, Civilization Calls Every Man Woman and Child!
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Together We Win (WWI)
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Uncle Sam with empty Treasury
Notes
- ^ Marschall, Rick (May, 1985). "The Comic Obsessions of James Montgomery Flagg". Nemo, the Classic Comics Library, No. 11.
- ^ Bogart, Michele Helene (December 18, 1995). Artists, advertising, and the borders of art (first ed.). University Of Chicago Press. pp. 444. ISBN 978-0-226-06307-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=TRkbjgsVa3kC&pg=PA63.
- ^ Smith, David S., "A Stately New Exhibition Space For New Boston Museum Of American Art", Antiques And The Arts Online, April 11, 2006. accessed May 8, 2009.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Montgomery Flagg |
- James Montgomery Flagg posters, hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries Digital Collections
- James Montgomery Flagg's 1917 "I Want You" Poster and other works (Internet Archive copy from 2004 October 28)
- James Montgomery Flagg on JVJ Publishing site
- James Montgomery Flagg artwork can be viewed at American Art Archives web site
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Oxford Dictionary of the US Military
The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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