With Federal money remaining from the Act making Arizona a state, then Governor George Hunt
commissioned artwork to decorate the walls of the new State Capitol. Lon Megargee (1883-1960)
was one of two artists to receive a commission.
Lon Megargee had sought out the commission after his drought-plagued ranch had gone bankrupt.
Ironically, Arizona's first art commission was also the artist's first commission.
For the commission, Megargee painted 15 murals depicting various aspects of Arizona's landscape,
one of the most famous being The Spirit of Irrigation.
Megargee and the governor corresponded throughout
the commission. In a letter dated July 7, 1913, Megargee described his emerging concept for
Irrigation.
"The next I will send when finished is The Spirit of Irrigation,
the form of a young girl draped and
pouring water from an Indian jar onto the soil . . ."
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Megargee, at a young age, ran away from his upper class home and
headed west. We worked as a free-lance cowboy, exhibition roper, poker dealer, and bronco buster in
Arizona and then went east to study art in Philadelphia and New York before returning to the West.
For nearly half a century, Megargee's life was intertwined with Arizona's history. Beside the 15
murals for the State Capitol, his best known works are The Cowboy's Dream,
used to advertize Arizona Brewing Co's A-1 Beer, and The Last Drop from his Stetson,
still used by the Stetson Hat Co. He also received
patronage from the Santa Fe Railway Company. Today, Megargee is referred to as Arizona's cowboy artist.
Megargee's mural of The Spirit of Irrigation is still on display at the Arizona State Capitol.
