This is the most recent article about it, from last year.
www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2010/06/06/14287596.htmlFor nearly 20 years, the largest oil painting of Queen Elizabeth II known to exist hung from the rafters at the north end of the Winnipeg Arena, where thousands of people saw it regularly.
But for the past decade the painting has been stored in a warehouse in Oshawa, Ont., where only a few sets of interested eyes have gazed upon Her Majesty’s glory.
Now, with the Queen herself headed to Canada in a few short weeks and talk of a return to NHL days in Winnipeg, the custodians of the giant portrait are hoping to find it a new home.
In a perfect world, that would happen before the Queen arrives in Halifax on June 28.
“Wouldn’t that be great to have her see it?” said Anya Wilson, a member of the Ontario-based Camp X Historical Society and the person in charge of the painting’s custody. “We’re looking for an appropriate home for her on a loan basis, something respectful and appropriate. It might also be nice to travel it.”
The portrait was commissioned by Manitoba lieutenant-governor Bud Jobin in 1979 after complaints were received about another, apparently unflattering, painting of the Queen that used to hang in the south end of the arena. The new portrait was painted by the same artist as the old one, Gilbert Burch. He was paid $1,600 for his services.
The new painting was unveiled at the Winnipeg Arena on Dec. 7, 1979, during the Winnipeg Jets’ first season in the NHL. There it stayed until the summer of 1999, when it was taken down to make room for banners for the Pan Am Games.
Because the painting partly blocked the view from some seats and caused sound problems during concerts, Winnipeg Enterprises Corp., which managed the arena, decided not to hang it back up.
In search of a new home over the next year or two, the painting passed from the Royal Commonwealth Society to the Souris and District Heritage Club and finally to the Camp X Historical Society, which is named after the Second World War-era secret agent training facility located in Toronto’s eastern suburbs.
That group’s plan was to display it in a Camp X museum, but it has yet to be built.
The society has been more than willing over the years to lend it out — even now they aren’t looking to sell it, simply to find it a place to hang it — but you can’t display a painting that measures five by seven metres just anywhere.
“We’ve had lots of requests but when people realize how big it is and how heavy it is they can’t accommodate it,” Wilson said. “They loved it and thought it was beautiful but they couldn’t hang it.”
Wilson said the portrait is still in great condition.
“She looks gorgeous in it. It was when she was at the top of her game,” Wilson said of Queen Elizabeth II. “It’s a lovely piece.”
Anyone interested in the painting is welcome to call Wilson at 416-977-7704.
Her Majesty’s giant portrait
— At 5 x 7 metres, it is the largest oil painting of QEII known to exist
— It was painted on a dozen 1.2 x 2.4 metre wood panels, then coated with clear varnish
— It took 200 hours, and the help of scaffolding, to complete
— It was artist Gilbert Burch’s second portrait of QEII to hang in the Winnipeg Arena
— Burch used a newspaper photo of the Queen as the guide for the portrait
— It was unveiled Dec. 7, 1979, at the Winnipeg Arena before the Winnipeg Jets’ 8-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers
— It was taken down prior to the 1999 Pan Am Games and never returned to its place
— It has had no permanent home since
