Private Collection Presentation

Historic Montreal Canadiens
Portrait Collection

Eight life-sized oil portraits of the 1920s Montreal Canadiens. Discovered, restored, and now fully identified.

Oil on board · ca. 1925–1932 · 68 × 30½ inches each · Professionally conserved · All eight players confirmed through La Presse archival records.

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Montreal Canadiens Portrait Collection
8
Life-Sized Portraits
3
Hall of Fame Subjects
68″
Height — Life Scale
1927
La Presse Archival Validation

Found in the Demolition of the Montreal Forum

The Montreal Forum stood at 2313 Sainte-Catherine Street West for seventy years. When the Canadiens moved to the Molson Centre in 1996, workers demolishing the building found the paintings.

Eight portraits. Life-sized. The players unmistakably in the Canadiens' uniform of the 1920s. They were acquired by Christopher English and professionally restored in 2013 by Tom Yost of Yost Conservation, LLC — a $20,000 treatment that addressed decades of accumulated damage and brought these works back to their proper condition.

“There was a lot of time and skill that went into these paintings.”

— Christopher English, Original Acquirer
Five of the eight portraits Three of the eight portraits

Section III — Historical Validation

Confirmed Through La Presse Archives, 1927–28

Between December 10, 1927 and March 3, 1928, La Presse published full-page photographs of individual Canadiens players in its weekly Saturday advertising supplement. Each player appears in his uniform against a plain background — the same presentation as the paintings. These archival scans, held by the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, provided the basis for confirming all eight identities.

Howie Morenz - La Presse Dec 10 1927
Howie Morenz
La Presse · December 10, 1927
George Hainsworth - La Presse Jan 7 1928
George Hainsworth
La Presse · January 7, 1928
Herb Gardiner - La Presse Jan 21 1928
Herb Gardiner
La Presse · January 21, 1928
Art Gagné - La Presse Jan 14 1928
Art Gagné
La Presse · January 14, 1928
Albert Leduc - La Presse Jan 28 1928
Albert "Battleship" Leduc
La Presse · January 28, 1928
Léonard Gaudreault - La Presse Feb 11 1928
Léonard Gaudreault
La Presse · February 11, 1928

All Eight Confirmed Identifications

Player La Presse Issue Position Hall of Fame
Georges VézinaMarch 3, 1928Goaltender1945 — Original
George HainsworthJanuary 7, 1928GoaltenderInducted 1961
Howie MorenzDecember 10, 1927Forward1945 — Original
Herb GardinerJanuary 21, 1928DefenceInducted 1958
Art GagnéJanuary 14, 1928Forward
Albert "Battleship" LeducJanuary 28, 1928Defence
Charlie LangloisFebruary 25, 1928Defence
Léonard GaudreaultFebruary 11, 1928Forward

Section V — Physical Specifications

The Collection at a Glance

Medium
Oil on paper board
Height
68″ (172.7 cm)
Width
30½″ (77.5 cm)
Quantity
Eight portraits
Date
ca. 1925–1932
Conservation
Yost Conservation LLC, 2013

“While the artist is unknown, the players are known and the portraits look to be genuine period portraits of famous hockey heroes in their day. Because no other comparable oil portraits of these hockey players have appeared, these portraits have considerable value due to their rarity and subject.”

— Caroline M. Welsh, Director Emerita, Adirondack Museum

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This collection is being presented privately to a selected group of collectors and institutions. To receive the full documentation package — including the expert opinion, conservation report, and archival identification materials — please reach out directly.

Email johnmorgan@jfmsports.com Phone 518-524-3269

Very few people know these works exist. That is where the conversation begins.