Judge — May 31, 1902 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a romanticized portrait from Judge's recurring "Gallery of Fair Women" feature—a genteel series celebrating attractive women rather than political satire. The subject is identified as "James Montgomery Flagg," the renowned illustrator who signed this sketch in 1902. The accompanying poem, "Just a Fancy," presents a sentimental daydream: a man imagines a woman named Belinda dreaming of her future wedding beneath roses, and he fantasizes about standing beside her at the altar. It's a wistful romantic reverie—popular sentimental fare for the era's magazine audience. This represents Judge's lighter content: decorative portraiture and romantic verse aimed at middle-class readers, distinct from the magazine's typically sharp political cartoons. The drawing showcases Flagg's skilled draftsmanship in capturing early 1900s women's fashion (the distinctive pompadour hairstyle and high collar) and refined aesthetic sensibility.