James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960) American, Framed Enlistment Poster. Uncle Sam with his hands on his hips expects us to enlist. Signature middle right. Framed.

Overall Size: 32 1/4 x 22 1/4 in. 

Sight Size: 29 x19 1/2 in. 

#9 #3570 . 

James Montgomery Flagg was born on June 18th, 1877 in Pelham, New York. 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 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 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. 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. 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 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 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. 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. This makes it one of the most popular (confirmed) self-portraits in all of history. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt praised his resourcefulness for using his own face as the model, and Flagg then admitted that he had a neighbor, Walter Botts, pose as a model for the strong shoulders, and thrusting forefinger of the piece. At his peak, Flagg was reportedly the highest-paid magazine illustrator in America. He worked for The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s simultaneously, 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. 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. In 1948, he appeared in a Pabst Blue Ribbon 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. As Flagg’s eyesight deteriorated in his later days he spent summers in Biddeford Pool, Maine, and his home, the James Montgomery Flagg House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. He died on May 27th, 1960, in New York City, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. Fort Knox, Kentucky, has a parade field named for and dedicated to Flagg, located behind the Fort Knox Hotel and the home office of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Many of his recruitment posters have been repurposed over the years, with his most iconic one used unaltered for every single major conflict the U.S. became involved with since.

Spotting. Staining along the top.