This iconic US Army ads created in World War 1 by James Montgomery Flagg, created a legacy that spanned generations and popular culture. Many artist dream of creating iconic work that can define the military and even the country.
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.
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.
For more info and art visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Montgomery_Flagg
http://www.americanartarchives.com/flagg.htm
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