From the exhibition
C. D. Gibson (Caricature)
Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960, artist; Bain News Service, publisher · c. 1900

A spare profile sketch in pencil or pen, signed *C. D. Gibson / J. M. Flagg* in looping cursive at lower left. The subject faces right: a broad, nearly bald cranium sweeps down to a strong Roman nose and a firmly set mouth, the collar and knotted cravat sketched in quick, economical strokes. No caption survives. The drawing is a young James Montgomery Flagg—later famous for his Uncle Sam recruiting poster—caricaturing his senior colleague Charles Dana Gibson, *Life*'s reigning star. The exaggerated dome and imperious profile read as affectionate professional rivalry rather than malice: one ambitious draftsman measuring himself against the man who defined American illustrated elegance for a generation.
Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960, artist; Bain News Service, publisher Public domain