ARIZONA SKETCH BOOK

arizona sketch book Cowboy Turned Artist

LON MEGARGEE came to Arizona to be a cowboy. That was thirty years ago. He was then a mere stripling in a very staid and somber eastern city, Philadelphia. The call of the wild west (to most Philadelphians at the turn of the century Arizona territory was the wildest of the wild west) was strong enough to draw him away from home at an age when most boys "with bright and shining faces" were trudging their way to school to acquire varied and dull knowledge about such varied and dull things as arithmetic, spelling and geography. About the time his school mates back east were getting ready to be graduated from grammar school, Lon Megargee was earning his living on an Arizona cattle ranch. He worked on the old "51" on Lime creek and was with outfits along the "Hassayamp."

He loved ranch life, the desert and mountains of Arizona, and above all he loved horses. That he would ever express that love in sketches, drawings and paintings never occurred to him then.

His artistic career came much later. Before he was old enough to vote he owned a small cow outfit. Everything looked rosy because a youngster with a small outfit had only to work and save to get along. Life was very pleasant and secure.

Then came the drought and life was neither pleasant nor secure for Lon Megargee. He was forced to sell his outfit and when the cattle business came into bad days he drifted over to Los Angeles and eventually got into newspaper work.

It was during this period that he took up drawing. He worked for several newspapers in Los Angeles doing sketches and impressions. He later became head of the art department at the old Lasky Paramount studios.

Commercial art next attracted his attention; so he went to New York where he lived for a year and a half. He illustrated for some magazines, as well as drawing and painting in the commercial field. He did the westerns for the Stet son hat company, which were notable and outstanding.

Lon Megargee had no formal art education. His development came by hard work and experimentation and constant endeavor to improve his technique. His development was gradual but the foundation was solid and genuine.

When city life became too confining he came back to Arizona. This time it was as Lon Megargee, the artist; not Lon Megargee, the cowboy. He went into the desert to paint. He lived in the mountains. He went to Mexico. He sketched and painted as he saw life about him, interpreting truly and faithfully, trying to tell an honest simple story.

His fame spread beyond the borders of the state. In Arizona he was one of the first of the acclaimed artists and his popularity and ranking is recognized today. He painted the murals at the Westward Ho and at Jokake Inn, and among his most recent commissions was (Turn to Page 41)