“I Want You” Poster

Arguably the most famous American poster of all time is the "I Want You" US Army recruiting post created by James Montgomery Flagg in 1917.

James Flagg

Flagg was born in Pelham Manor, New York. He was enthusiastic about drawing from a young age, and had illustrations accepted by national magazines by the age of 12 years. By 14 he was a contributing artist for Life Magazine, and the following year was on the staff of Judge Magazine. He studied fine art in London and Paris in his early 20s, then returned to the United States, where he produced illustrations for books, magazine covers, political and humorous cartoons, advertising, and spot drawings prolifically.

Original WW I U.S. Army Recruiting Poster

His most famous illustration though remains his 1917 recruitment poster. 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.

The pose of Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer  combined with the caption "I Want YOU" proved to be a huge success and over 4 million copies of the poster were printed during World War I.   In fact, the poster was considered so effective that it was revived in 1940 and used throughout World War II. Uncle Sam’s riveting stare was dubbed by one observer as "mobilization by shame": there was no escaping his call.

Flagg created no less that 46 posters for the U.S. Government during the World War I period.  

Alfred Leete’s Kitchener poster

Flagg’s inspiration for his poster was a 1914 British recruitment poster by Alfred Leete showing Lord Kitchener, then Head of the British Army, in a similar pose with the headline "Your Country Needs You." Leete’s concept was copied by almost every other Allied combatant in the war.