Lon Megargee (1883–1960) was an American painter from
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. He did paintings of the Arizona landscape, Native Americans, and cowboys. His artwork is displayed at the
Arizona State Capitol
The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, was the last home for Arizona's Territorial government, until Arizona became a state in 1912. Initially, all three branches of the new state government occupied the four floors of th ...
.
Early life
Megargee was born in 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He lost his father at 13, and he spent his adolescence with his uncle, rancher Cornelius Borden, in Arizona. One of his cousins, Edwin Megargee, was a painter.
Megargee studied painting at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Career
Megargee first worked on his uncle's ranch as a teenager, and later as a cowboy in
Wickenburg, Arizona
Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010.
History
The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part of ...
. He moved to Phoenix, where he was a firefighter and a police officer.
Megargee did paintings of the Arizona landscape, Native Americans, and cowboys. He did 15 paintings for the newly built
Arizona State Capitol
The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, was the last home for Arizona's Territorial government, until Arizona became a state in 1912. Initially, all three branches of the new state government occupied the four floors of th ...
in 1913-1914, and three more in 1934. He designed advertisements for the A-1 Brewing Company in 1948-1951. He exhibited his paintings at the
Grand Central Art Galleries
The Grand Central Art Galleries were the exhibition and administrative space of the nonprofit Painters and Sculptors Gallery Association, an artists' cooperative established in 1922 by Walter Leighton Clark together with John Singer Sargent, Edmu ...
in New York City in 1956.
Megargee was called "Arizona’s first cowboy artist" by ''
True West Magazine
''True West Magazine'' (alternate title: ''True West'') is an American magazine that covers the icons like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James and relates American Old West history back to the present day to show the role conte ...
''.
Personal life and death
Megargee was "married at least seven times." He resided near
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...
with his last wife, Hermine. Megargee had a son, Larry, who lived in California.
Megargee died in 1960 in
Cottonwood, Arizona
Cottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 11,265.
Geography
Cottonwood is located at (34.7321, -112.0186). According to the United States Census Bureau, the c ...