James Montgomery Flagg

James Montgomery Flagg was born in Pelham Manor, New York. He started his professional career as an illustrator at the age of twelve, when he sold his first work to the prestigious St. Nicholas Magazine. Soon he worked for the big humor magazines of that time, Life and Judge. He studied at the Arts Students League and went to Europe in 1898 to study painting in England and France. James Montgomery Flagg became a productive and ambitious artist, working for all the outstanding publications of his time. He made numerous illustrations and was known for his illustrated limericks.

Monty Flagg, as he was also known, led a bohemian life. He was founding member of the infamous Dutch Treat Club in 1906, a loose association of creative types, and became its president in 1913. In 1917, he drew the famous 'Uncle Sam' poster (modelled after his own face) which was used to lure citizens to the army in World Wars I and II.

Flagg also drew comics, such as 'A Momentary Qualm', as well as an adaptation of the novel 'Goodnight Sweet Prince' for King Features (1944). He wrote his biography, 'Roses and Buckshot' in 1946. He died in New York in 1960, at the age of 82.