James Montgomery Flagg

James Montgomery Ward

James Montgomery Flagg was born on June 18, 1887 in Pelham Manor, New York. As a child, Flagg loved sketching with pen and paper. In fact, his first published painting was at the age of twelve by the then popular magazine St. Nicholas Magazine. By the age of fourteen, he was a regular contributor to Life Magazine. A year later, he was hired to be on the staff of Judge Magazine. Flagg continued to contribute by drawing famous celebrity portraits for the popular magazines front covers. Although Flagg went to the prestigious Art Students League, he attributes most of his knowledge and talent in art to the many drawing he saw by others working with the magazines.

In 1916, Flagg turned in a painting he was commissioned to do for Leslie's Magazine. The cover read, "What are you doing for preparedness?" After seeing this, the U.S. government asked Flagg to adapt the man to a war poster. This figure later became known as Uncle Sam. There have been numerous questions as to Uncle Sam's true identity. As far as the physical appearance goes, it is indeed James Montgomery Flagg himself. Flagg usually posed for himself to save money on not hiring models for his artworks. As for the pointed finger, Flagg borrowed that idea from a British propaganda poster featuring Lord Horatio Kitchener with the same pose asking