Uncle Sam

Unlike many, my favorite concept of Uncle Sam isn't the famous one from a World War I recruiting poster ("I Want You," by James Montgomery Flagg, a renowned illustrator at the time. 

Instead, I prefer the squinty-eyed, determined Sam painted later on by J.C. Leyendecker,. That Sam, whose facial features owe a great deal to Flagg is more reassuring to me. Instead of looking us in the eye he's watching something in the distance--perhaps gathering war clouds?  

I made this 20x16 portrait of Uncle Sam from a Leyendecker July 4 magazine cover.dating to 1936 "Uncle Sam at the Helm," which shows him steering the ship of state. I was mostly interested in the face.