This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Red), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings jersey is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Detroit Red Wings uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Detroit Red Wings products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Tino Paolini for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd. 1996-97 was a Stanley Cup winning season for the Detroit Red Wings.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by the National Hockey League unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by the NHL. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

After two straight President's Trophies the Red Wings finish in 2nd place in the Central Division with a 38-26-18 record.  Despite the two first place finishes the Wings had yet to win the Cup. . Denied by the Devils in 1995, this team, led by its captain Steve Yzerman, and other notables such as Sergie Federov and Nicklas Lidstrom. An October trade brought LW Brendan Shanahan to Detroit from Hartford and hope to Hockeytown. Shanahan ended up leading the club with 47 goals and 88 points.When Colorado came to town on March 26 major a brawl brokeout. Detroit's Darren McCarty pummel Colorados Claude Lemieux, exacting revenge for Lemieuxs cheap shot that knocked Kris Draper out of the 1996 playoffs. McCarty scored the game-winner that night, just 39 seconds into overtime to give Detroit a 6-5 win and tons of momentum heading into the playoffs.In the first round of the playoffs the Wings beat the St. Louis Blues in 6 games. Now rolling the Red Wings stormed into their 2nd-round match-up with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and swept them out of the postseason in four games. Mike Vernon was outstanding. His hot goaltending was the primary reason for the teams playoff success.Then, in a reversal of the previous year's conference finals, the Red Wings won the first 2 games from the Avalanche in Colorado and then go on to win the series in 6 games. In the finals the Red Wings took command early beating the Flyers in the first 2 games in Philadelphia. As the series shifted back to Hockeytown the Wings went in for the kill completing the sweep to win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. Mike Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy.Note the special Stanley Cup patch on the right shoulder something both the Red Wings & Flyers wore for the series. The 97 cup celebration, however, was met with tragedy when following the victory, defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov are severely injured in an automobile accident. The following year, the Red Wings wore a special patch to honour their fallen comrades with the word believe in both English & Russian emblazoned in the middle. Though one of the cleanest and simplest in design, the Red Wings uniform, to the untrained eye, seems to have gone through very few changes throughout the franchise's history. To the astute observer, however, the infamous winged wheel icon has changed often in size, shape, placement, and colour configuration over the some-odd 65 years the team has had it as its symbol! Take a close look at each of the 9 winged wheel sweaters showcased on this poster and see how many changes you can spot!