The Legend ofLon Megargee

When cowboy artist Alonzo “Lon” Megargee set his eyes on a plot of land in present Paradise Valley, far beyond Phoenix’s city limits in the 1930s, it spoke to him. He built a one-room studio in the middle of it and called it home.

A native of Philadelphia, the artist had ventured West at the turn of the 20th century, chasing an idealized notion of the American Dream of ranchers, Indians, and settlers that were fading fast even during his time. Along the way, his raw-boned charm snared several wives and earned him a well-deserved reputation as a ladies’ man. But it was his adobe studio, set amid the creosote, that perhaps was the closest to his heart.