Pittsburgh Steelers 1933

Tino Paolini

Out of stock

Watercolor Painting

Tino Paolini

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.

...
$0.00 USD - Price includes framing as well as fast, free shipping with UPS

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 (Yellow), 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 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates (now Pittsburgh Steelers) uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Pittsburgh Steelers uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Pittsburgh Steelers 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 Football League unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by the NFL. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

Any story about the Steelers has to begin with Art Rooney.Art J. Rooney (aka The Chief) was the prototypical playboy: a slick card player, a cunning horseplayer, and a savvy sports promoter. He purchased an NFL franchise in 1933 for $2,500, and converted his semi-pro team, known as the Majestics (for the Majestic Radios Athletic Club), into the Pirates - naming the team the same as its baseball counterparts! It wasn't until 1940 that Rooney changed the name to the Steelers suggested by the teams ticket managers wife to reflect ties to the city's steel industry. The Steelers are steeped in tradition, and in fact are the 6th oldest  team in the NFL today.As you can see from the 1933 painting, this inaugural 33 Pittsburgh Pirates jersey had various stripes - which were actually raised felt. These felt strips allowed the ball carrier to get a better purchase on the ball and thus keep it that much more securely.If you look closely at the 1993 jersey, you'll see quite a complicated crest, which is actually the Arms of the City of Pittsburgh. We had quite a time researching this as to the best of our ability to tell, there are no actual 1933 jerseys still in existence, and the few photos that exist don't show the crest in too fine a detail.In researching this jersey, we relied on newspaper articles that confirmed it was the city of Pittsburgh crest, and then we found samples of the crest as it appeared in the early 30's. We then matched the crest to the jersey photos, and came up with the likeness shown in this painting.In 1994, when the NFL was commemorating its 75th anniversary, all teams wore throwback jerseys at one time or another. The Steelers chose to honor the 1933 team and re-created the 1933 jersey. The only problem was that they ran into the same sort of roadblock we did, thus the NFL had to do a bit of guessing as to what the crest looked like.Thus the 33 jersey is truly an elusive football gem - if anybody knows anything about the existence of one of these jerseys, you should contact the Pro Football Hall of Fame in can'ton, Ohio they would love to hear from you!As for the 1933 team, they finished 3-6-2 and in 5th place in the 5 team NFL East. And things wouldn't get much better for a while. In fact, the Pirates/Steelers wouldn't finish above .500 until 1942 when they went 7-4.

Recently Viewed Products