Celebrating 100 Years

In 1923, artist Lon Megargee depicted a cowboy kneeling to give his horse a drink from his upturned hat. This plainspoken masterwork was originally published on the cover of Western Story magazine. The John B. Stetson Company bought the rights to the image in 1923. Since then, it has been featured in Stetson advertising, as well as on hat boxes, posters, and on the liners of some of Stetson’s most iconic hats. 

An icon of the Stetson brand for more than 100 years, “The Last Drop from His Stetson," endures as a symbol of the American cowboy’s values of resourcefulness, compassion and humility. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of “The Last Drop from His Stetson," Stetson has partnered with Pendleton to reimagine Lon Megargee’s iconic artwork as a special-edition jacquard blanket.

The Artist

Artist Lon Megargee (1883-1960) was born in Philadelphia, PA and moved out west as a boy, where he began wrangling at age 13 and later spent time working as a cowboy in Wickenburg, Arizona. He drew upon his experience in the saddle to create “The Last Drop from His Stetson."

Stetson kicked off the 100th anniversary celebration with a limited edition Western hat. As part of the launch, they commissioned three contemporary artists, Logan Maxwelle Hagege, Thomas Blackshear and Bella McGoldrick, to reimagine Megargee’s original artwork in their own style.

About the Blanket

Pendleton’s surface design team met with the team at Stetson to discuss ideas on how to translate this painting into a Pendleton blanket. The biggest challenge was to evoke the colors and detailed textures from the original artwork in a woven blanket design. Pendleton’s mill technical designer simplified the painting’s palette to meet loom requirements.

With drawing techniques and color arrangement in textile design software, our designers achieved a depth in color and texture that honors the original painting. Each CAD iteration was presented to the Stetson team, and revised based on feedback. The blanket is very much a collaborative effort of both teams at Stetson and Pendleton. 

The special-edition blanket translates the original artwork using a three-color jacquard weaving technique. It was woven on our looms in Pendleton, Oregon, and finished at our Washougal, Washington facility.  Each blanket is individually packaged in a Beaver State box and includes a “Last Drop from His Stetson" commemorative story card and custom sewn-on patch.

See more information here: “The Last Drop From His Stetson” blanket