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 (Purple), 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 2004 Minnesota Vikings uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Minnesota Vikings uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Minnesota Vikings products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Nola McConnan 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 Football League unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by the NFL. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

Normally a .500 record is never good enough to get you into the postseason in the NFL, but in 2004 that's all you needed in the NFC to get into the playoffs. The Vikings, led by third-year head coach Mike Tice, made the 2004 postseason as a wildcard entry with an 8-8 record, finishing behind the Packers who at 10-6 were the NFC North Division winners. The irony here is that the Vikings had a better regular season record in 2003 than in 2004, 9-7 vs 8-8, but 9-7 wasn't good enough to make the playoffs in 2003.The Vikings started the 2004 season strong. They were a solid 5-3 after eight games. They could not sustain their momentum in the latter half of the season, however, dropping games to beatable opponents such as the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins.The Vikings entered the playoffs following losses in the final two weeks of the regular season.  In the first week of the playoffs they met the NFC Central champion Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay in one of the NFC Wildcard games. The Vikings pulled off a surprising victory over Bret Favre and his mates, upsetting the Packers at home 31-17. The game perhaps will be best remembered for the mooning gesture that WR Randy Moss made at Green Bay fans after he scored a touchdown.The following week the Vikes traveled to Philadelphia for the NFC Divisional playoff and fell 27-14 at the hands of the Eagles who would go on to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XXXIX.  This would be Mosss final game for Minnesota. In the off-season, before the 2005 Entry Draft, Moss was dealt to Oakland for a first round pick.The on-field leader for the Vikings in 2004 was their steady and reliable quarterback Dante Culpepper. Culpepper played every minute at QB for the Vikings in 2004 and his year end numbers were as follows: 379 completions for 4717 yards, with 39 TD's and 11 interceptions. Nate Burleson emerged as the teams top receiver finishing the year with 68 receptions for 1006 yards and 9 TD's.When the Vikings played their final game of 2004 in Philadelphia they were wearing their white road jerseys like the one shown here. The Viking white jersey has not changed a great deal over the years, but for this particular version please note the gold accents found highlighting the numerals on the front and back of the jerseys as well as the TV numbers found on the tops of the shoulders. Also present is the Viking head logo on the sleeves of the jersey.  The Vikes wear white pants with purple and gold striping down the side of the leg with both their home and road jerseys.