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 1926-27 Chicago Blackhawks jersey is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Chicago Blackhawks uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Chicago Blackhawks products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Tino Paolini for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd.

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

On September 25, 1926, coffee baron Major Frederic McLaughlin was granted approval by the National Hockey League to form a team to begin competing in the 1926-27 season. Wanting his team to be competitive right away Major McLaughlin purchased the Portland Rosebuds from the recently disbanded Western Hockey League. A consortium headed by McLaughlin buys the franchise for $200,000, moves the team to the Windy City and changed the name. Supposedly, McLaughlin named the team the Blackhawks for two reasons: he was an ex-military commander, who belonged to the 85th Blackhawk Division in World War I; the Division was named after  Chief Blackhawk  a leader of an Indian tribe in the Midwest.  The second story says that the Major had a restaurant in Chicago called The Blackhawk and he named the team the Blackhawks to get a little free advertising for his restaurant. There's probably a little truth to either tale.The Blackhawks, using the Chicago Coliseum as their home, prepared to begin play in the NHL for the 1926-27 season. At this time there were 10 teams in the League and the league was divided into 2 divisions. The Blackhawks found themselves in the American Division with the NY Rangers, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Cougars.  The other 5 teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons and the NY Americans were members of the Canadian Division.Led by ex-Portland personnel such as Dick Irvin, Sr. (who would later coach), Rabbit McVeigh, and Percy Traub and joined by newcomer Babe Dye the Blackhawks finished their inaugural season a respectable 19-22-3 for 3rd in the American Division.  Irvin le the club in scoring with 18 goals and18 assists (36points) in 44 games.  In the playoffs Chicago was eliminated by losing 10-5 in a total goals series with the Boston Bruins.Major McLaughlins wife, Irene Castle, a famous dancer in the 1920's, designed the teams sweaters. Note the unique, 2 colour, striped uniforms the Blackhawks used for the better part of their 1st decade (they were 1 of 3 teams to use a 2-colour scheme, Toronto & Detroit being the others!) Also note the Chief Blackhawk logo on the chest, an icon the team still uses to this day!