author
James Montgomery Flagg
1877–1960
The creator of America’s iconic “I Want You” Uncle Sam poster, James Montgomery Flagg was a celebrated illustrator, painter, and author whose work shaped the visual culture of the early 20th century. His lively drawings, portraits, satire, and patriotic posters made him one of the era’s most recognizable American artists.
1 Audiobook
Why They Married
by James Montgomery Flagg
About the author
Born in Pelham Manor, New York, in 1877, James Montgomery Flagg began selling drawings as a child and went on to study at the Art Students League of New York, as well as in England and France. He built a prolific career illustrating for magazines such as Life, Judge, St. Nicholas, Harper’s Weekly, and Cosmopolitan, while also producing book illustrations, cartoons, advertisements, and oil portraits.
Flagg is best remembered for his World War I recruiting poster featuring Uncle Sam and the words “I Want You for U.S. Army.” He used himself as the model and later created dozens of other wartime posters, including work for World War II. Alongside illustration, he painted portraits of notable figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, John Singer Sargent, and Ethel Barrymore.
An author as well as an artist, Flagg wrote books including Yankee Girls Abroad, Why They Married, City People, and the autobiographical Roses and Buckshot. He died in New York City in 1960.