Friberg, Arnold

Arnold Friberg (December 21, 1913 - July 1, 2010) (pronounced FREE-berg) was an American painter and illustrator. Born in Winnetka, Illinois, his father was Swedish and his mother was Norwegian. The family moved to Arizona when he was three, and not long after his parents converted to Mormonism. He became a baptized member of the LDS Church at the age of eight. His painting career began at thirteen, when he became an apprentice to a sign maker. He attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts after graduating from high school and then continued his education at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. While at the Grand Central School, he found work with advertising agencies, which included creating covers for several magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post. In 1937, before his move to New York in 1940, Friberg began working on projects for the Northwest Paper Company of Minnesota. The company was struggling (it was the Great Depression after all) and wanted to project an image of quality, sonsistency, and dependability. Thus, Friberg was commissioned to draw advertisements for the Northwest Paper Company featuring the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Friberg maintained the connection with the Northwest Paper Company over the course of his career and his RCMP works became some of his most well known paintings. At the time of his death, the RCMP paintings totaled over 300 works. The RCMP even commissioned Friberg to create a painting celebrating its centennial. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of World War II, and, although he was offered the rank of captain and a posting drawing recruiting posters for the U.S. Army Air Corps, he chose to join the infantry. He served in the 86th Infantry Division, and used his artistic ability to make maps and other documents for the division's Intelligence section. He served in Europe and the Pacific. After the war, Friberg settled in San Francisco and married Hedve Baxter. He established himself as an artist and became a success creating Western paintings for the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company. Then, upon advice from Hedve's doctor, the couple moved to Salt Lake City in search of a drier climate. Shortly after moving to Salt Lake City, Friberg was commissioned to create a painting of the first Sunday school taught by an LDS member. This led to a commission of twelve paintings illustrating the Book of Mormon for a magazine titled The Children's Friend. These paintings caught the eye of the Mormon Church and were soon included in the Book of Mormon itself. These paintings drew the attention of Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille, who commissioned Friberg to create a series of paintings for his epic The Ten Commandments. Friberg spent from 1953 through 1956 as DeMille's chief artist and designer. Friberg continued painting for decades. A portrait of George Washington titled 'The Prayer at Valley Forge' is probably his best known work. He died on July 1, 2010 due to complications from hip surgery.