"The
Cowboys Dream"
In
1948 "The Cowboys Dream" (originally titled "The
Sleeping Cowboy"), was the first of the series of seven, which
has become one of the world's most celebrated works of Commercial
Art. An exhausted cowboy is stretched out with his head cradled
on his saddle and his hat down over his eyes. In the sky a cloud
in the form of a lady riding a white horse is seen. The cowboys
branding iron, which is tied to his saddle has branded A-1 on the
vision in the sky.
In
1949 this painting won the blue ribbon advertising award at the annual
convention of the SBC, which was the largest brewers organization
in the world. During the convention in Chicago "The Cowboys
Dream" was acclaimed as one of the finest pieces of multicolored
lithography ever introduced into the field of beer advertising.
This is
a lithographic print of the 1948 painting of "The Cowboys Dream".
The
image size is 21 1/2 inches x 34 inches. There is a one inch border
around the print for matting.
"Black
Bart"
In
1949 "Black Bart" (originally
titled "The Barber and The Bandit") was the second
of the series of seven. In the picture the outlaw "Black
Bart" is about to get a shave from a cross eyed barber with
a straight edge razor in his hand. There is a wanted poster on
the wall with "Dead or Alive on Black Bart". "Black
Bart" doesn't trust the barber with the razor so he has
his hand on his gun. There is an A-1 advertising sign on the
wall along with one for Cal Boice for Sheriff. Cal Boise was
Sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona at the time.
This
is a lithographic print of the 1949 painting
of "Black Bart".
The
image size is 21 1/2 inches x 34 inches. There is a one inch border
around the print for matting.
"The
Dude Lady"
In
1950 "The Dude Lady" was
the third of the series of seven. She is a whimsical caricature
of an overweight cowgirl twirling and jumping through a rope.
She has the attention of some A-1 beer drinking cowboys. This
print was the least popular in the series because it was considered
offensive.
This
is a lithographic print of the 1950 painting
of "The Dude Lady".
The
image size is 21 1/2 inches x 34 inches. There is a one inch border
around the print for matting.
"The
Quartet"
In
1951 "The Quartet" (originally
titled "Poker Flats") was the fourth of the series
of seven. In the picture there are four cowboys singing outside
the "Poker Flat Saloon" with A-1 painted on the swinging
doors. There is a wanted poster for "Black Bart" Dead
or Alive and in the background "Black Bart" is sitting
on a donkey under a street light. There is a coyote howling with "The
Quartet" singers.
This
is a lithographic print of the 1951 painting
of "The Quartet".
The
image size is 21 1/2 inches x 34 inches. There is a one inch border
around the print for matting.
"Margarita"
In
late 1951, Lon Megargee painted
the picture "Margarita" to be the fifth in the series
of seven A-1 Beer advertisement Campaigns for the Arizona Brewing
Company in Phoenix, AZ. The painting was felt to be a little
too risqué for the times, so no prints were made of the
painting. The owner of the brewery took the painting and hung
it in his home; when he passed away in Dec. 1963, he willed the
painting to his best friend. He hung it in his bedroom until
1998.
This
is the FIRST edition lithographic print of the painting called "Margarita".
It shows a seductive looking lady sitting at a table in a bar with
a glass of beer and A-1 coaster. She is making suggestive eye contact
with a guitar player whose shadow is all you see.
The
image size of the lithograph print is 21 1/2 inches x23 3/4inches.
There is a one inch border around the print for matting.
This
painting is also seen on a postcard called "Cowboy Saturday
Night". It's a cowboy taking a bath, a horse is looking in the
window at a cat getting a drink out of the toilet and there is a
picture of "Margarita" in the upper right corner of the
card.
In
Jan. 2000 there was a Fundraiser Dinner and Mystery Show at the guest
ranch that Lon built in the 1930's dubbed "Casa Hermosa".
Today it is known as "The Hermosa Inn and LON's Restaurant" in
Phoenix, AZ. The fundraising event was to help the Lon Megargee Foundation
raise money to restore the 15 large murals painted by Megargee in
1913 for the Arizona State Capitol Building which is today the Arizona
State Capitol Museum and to help support the Wickenburg Desert Caballeros
Western Museum in Wickenburg, AZ. The mystery show was centered around
the "Margarita" painting and the famous "Last Drop
From His Stetson", painted by Lon Megargee for the Stetson Hat
Company in the early 20's. To this day, "The Last Drop" is
still inside on the lining of every top-of-the-line Stetson Hat.
Lon's only son was the special guest along with one of his four son's.
The President of J.B. Stetson Hat Company flew in from New York for
the Event. Other special guest included the Ex-Vice President of
the United States "Dan Quayle" and The Official Arizona
State Historian "Marshall Trimble".
"Lon's
Son (left) and
Grandson (right)"
"Ex-Vice
President Dan Quayle (center
right)"
"The
Official AZ State Historian Marshall Trimble (left)
and Herman Dickson (right)"
