Uncle Sam illustrator is born, June 18, 1877
James Montgomery Flagg, the creator of an iconic illustration of Uncle Sam now on view at the Library of Congress, was born on this day 1877 in Pelham Manor, an affluent suburb that abuts New York City. Flagg regarded his striking drawing of Uncle Sam (“I Want You for the U.S. Army”) as the most famous poster in the world. Dressed in his own Uncle Sam suit, he used himself as the model for the portrait.
After World War I broke out in Europe, a group of artists formed the “division of pictorial publicity,” with Charles Dana Gibson serving as its chairman. The group met weekly at Keene’s Chop House in New York City to discuss the federal government’s requests for public service posters. During the war, Flagg designed 46 patriotic posters, including his most famous one.
Before the United States entered the conflict, Leslie’s Weekly published his portrait of Uncle Sam as the cover of the July 6, 1916, issue with an alternate title: “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?” More than 4 million copies were printed during 1917 and 1918, when the war ended. During World War II, it was revived and used extensively.
During the New Deal, Flagg supported Franklin D. Roosevelt and painted campaign posters on his behalf during his four presidential races. His biographer, Susan Meyer, wrote: “Flagg had always admired FDR in public life and was equally impressed with the man in person, for he was not only forthright (a quality Flagg particularly respected in people), but he had a sense of humor as well.”
Flagg died three weeks before his 83rd birthday on May 27, 1960.
In 1961, Congress passed a resolution officially recognizing Samuel Wilson (1766-1854), a meatpacker, as the original Uncle Sam. Wilson supplied meat to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812.
SOURCE: U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS