Lord Kitchener Wants You

A British First World War recruitment poster depicts Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener pointing at the viewer beneath the words “WANTS YOU.” Its direct address became an enduring image of military recruitment.

Alfred Leete: An English graphic artist whose 1914 image of Lord Kitchener became a famous British recruitment poster. Leete created the image that was adapted into the poster.
London Opinion: A British illustrated weekly magazine published in London from 1903 to 1954. It published Leete’s Kitchener image on its cover in September 1914.
Pointing finger: A hand gesture in which an extended index finger indicates a person or direction. The finger appears to point out of the image toward its audience.
Uncle Sam Wants You: A United States recruitment image showing Uncle Sam pointing beneath the words “I Want You for U.S. Army.” Its later composition echoes Kitchener’s direct gaze and pointing gesture.
Lord Kitchener: A British soldier and statesman who served as secretary of state for war during the First World War. His face and pointing gesture give the poster its authority.
British Army recruiting campaign of 1914: The British government’s campaign to recruit volunteers for the army after Britain entered the First World War. The poster was produced amid the urgent drive for volunteer enlistment.
Eye contact: Visual engagement created when one person looks directly into another’s eyes. Kitchener’s direct gaze intensifies the poster’s sense of personal address.
We Can Do It!: A 1943 American wartime poster showing a woman worker flexing her arm beneath a labor slogan. It became another widely reused image of wartime mobilization, with a different audience and message.
British Army recruitment: The process of attracting and enlisting people into the armed forces of the United Kingdom. The poster urged men to volunteer for the British Army.
First World War: A global conflict fought from 1914 to 1918, chiefly between the Allied and Central Powers. The poster emerged during the war’s early recruitment crisis.

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James Montgomery FlaggCompared with: Its earlier pointing figure helped establish a format that Flagg’s American poster made famous.