Arnold Friberg
Dramatic Artwork
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Arnold
Friberg (December 21, 1913 – July 1, 2010)
was an American illustrator and painter noted for his religious
and patriotic works. He is perhaps best known for his 1975
painting The Prayer at Valley Forge, a depiction of George
Washington praying at Valley Forge. He is also well known for his
15 "pre-visualization" paintings for the Cecil B.
DeMille film The Ten Commandments which were used to
promote the film worldwide and for which he received an Academy
Award nomination. He has been admitted as a lifetime member of the
Royal Society of Arts. He also did a series of paintings depicting
scenes from the Book of Mormon for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
In 1968, Friberg was commissioned by Chevrolet to create a
series of paintings showing the greatest moments in college
football for use in their 1969 advertising campaign. After
extensive research on the location during winter and the equipment
and gear used by Revolutionary War soldiers, Friberg created his
1975 masterpiece The Prayer at Valley Forge. This depicts
George Washington praying while the Continental Army winters at
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania during 1777 and 1778. In 1977, he was
commissioned to create a series of saloon paintings for the Golden
Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada. Due to his previous work with the
RCMP, Friberg was commissioned to paint HRH The Prince of Wales
and his horse Centennial (great-grandson of Man o' War). This led
to an additional commission in 1990 to paint a portrait of Queen
Elizabeth II, also with Centennial. Both portraits were painted at
Buckingham Palace.
Friberg died on July 1, 2010, while recovering from hip
replacement surgery in a Salt Lake City care center.
True to the artist's desires, the Utah Cultural Arts Foundation
will purchase all of the artwork Friberg possessed at the time of
his death for the planned Arnold Friberg Museum of Art.
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