Patrick portraits

Lester Patrick was feted at banquets in his honour a few times. The last such occasion took place in the Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina on May 20, 1956, and was sponsored by Father Athol Murray, the founder of Notre Dame College at Wilcox, Sask., which was renowned for its hockey program. (When Gordie Howe came to New York Rangers camp in 1943, Lester wanted to sign him and send him to Notre Dame, but Howe declined in part because he wasn’t Catholic.)

A long list of dignitaries attended the dinner, including Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas. (Six years later, Douglas would become the father of medicare, while Father Murray would be one of its leading opponents.)

Many written tributes were read, including from retired stars Newsy Lalonde and Cyclone Taylor and NHL president Clarence Campbell. But overshadowing them all was a message from American president Dwight Eisenhower, who wrote:

Please extend to all who join in tribute to Lester Patrick my best wishes for a most successful celebration. The career of the man you honor at Notre Dame of Saskatchewan has been an inspiration to all who believe that athletics, founded on the rules of the game, the rights and abilities of individual players, the authority of umpires and referees, the insistence on fair play, worthily expresses enduring values in our way of life.

Eisenhower’s personal message apparently broke “long-standing protocol,” although I’m not sure how. Nor do I know if Eisenhower ever crossed paths with Lester in person.

Something else was noteworthy about that night. Father Murray announced that he planned to start fundraising for a bronze bust of Lester. It doesn’t sound like anything came of that idea. However, Murray revealed he had also commissioned a portrait of Lester by Nicholas de Grandmaison, a prominent artist best known for portraits of First Nations people, who flew in from Banff to start working on it.

I had never heard of this portrait of Lester before coming across a story in the Regina Leader Post about the tribute night in Regina. I found another mention in the Calgary Herald of June 18, 1956. Sandy McPherson wrote that de Grandmaison “showed us a few portraits of well known Canadians he has recently completed. One study looked familiar and we soon learned it was Lester Patrick, the old grey fox of hockey.”

I wondered where it was today. A Google image search turned up no sign of it. But there was a reference to a photo in the Notre Dame archives, taken in the 1960s of Father Murray and two other men “standing under the Nicholas de Grandmaison portraits of Lester Patrick and William Patterson.”

So I asked the school about it. Dave Harazy, the director of development and alumni relations for what is now the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, said he’d have a look. In the meantime, I discovered the Lester portrait was one of 20 Notre Dame commissioned de Grandmaison to create starting in 1956, all of political and sports figures.

To my delight, Harazy confirmed it is still hanging in the college and sent the photos seen below, showing an elderly Lester staring directly at the viewer. How would you describe his expression?

While it was reported that the portrait would be an oil painting, de Grandmaison actually executed it in pastels, his preferred medium.

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There are a few better-known artworks showing Lester and Frank Patrick.

One was created by Garry Sevier for Prudential insurance’s Great Moments in Canadian Sport print series and shows Lester during his famous 1928 fill-in stint in the New York Rangers net. (It actually looks like the puck is heading into the net, but we’ll assume that Lester made an amazing last-second save.)

Tony C. kindly sent me the ad seen here from the January 1962 edition of Reader’s Digest along with some history of the Prudential prints. They were issued in two generations, the first between 1961-65. The first 14 were numbered, and Lester’s was No. 3. The second generation came out in the 1970s and reprinted the first 14 and added another 11 new prints.

Other paintings appeared on cards. The 1983 Cartophilum set, commissioned by the Hockey Hall of Fame, featured paintings by Carlton McDiarmid of both Frank and Lester. McDiarmid was a Montreal Canadiens goal judge for 34 seasons and amassed a large collection of hockey memorabilia.

Lester and Frank were featured on 1994 Legends of Hockey cards from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Doug West was the artist. Lester’s showed him with the trophy that now bears his name. Classic Auctions sold the original 13x20 artwork for both cards, but I don’t know how much they fetched.

Finally, Lester and Frank were both depicted in a 2011 In the Game set of Hockey Hall of Fame members, but I don’t know who the artist was.

Updated on March 16, 2025 to add the Reader’s Digest ad and more details about the Prudential print. Thanks to Tony C.!