When Arnold Friberg entered World War II it was an ideal time for survival. By the time the artist had finished his training, German air superiority had been destroyed. Friberg was sent into combat in Germany, but the violence was no longer as intense as during the early months of the war.

Friberg was one of many artists who were overlooked by the topographic engineers who searched for soldiers with artistic skills. The army at that time was not sophisticated in its approach to assigning men to active duty. Friberg did get sent to silk-screen school in Texas. Each division was required to have one artistic man who could understand the silk-screen process for printing signs used during maneuvers. Friberg was already experienced in the processes so for him the week of training in Texas was pleasant.

Friberg only used the training once and it wasn’t for combat. The artist used his skills to for a party where he painted a regimental insignia for a gift.

Arnold Friberg’s is a devout Mormon and he took on the task of painting scenes from the LDS scriptures The Book of Mormon in the 1950s. Members of the Mormon church believe The Book of Mormon to be the word of God just like mainstream Christians believe the Bible to be the word of God.

Arnold Friberg’s task with The Book of Mormon was no different. No artist had ever attempted to paint scenes from the LDS scriptures. The Mormon church commissioned the paintings and therefore retained control over Friberg’s creative power.

Arnold Friberg was always concerned with accuracy. The artist was afraid that after returning home from London to finish Prince Charles portrait it would be to late to change anything that was inaccurate. So Friberg decided he needed to make wax impressions of the Prince’s uniform.

Concerned that a rule might prevent the artist from creating wax impressions he decided not to ask permission and just did it. All the while Friberg felt nervous about the possible consequences. In th e end it paid off because the prince liked the portrait.

Arnold Friberg traveled to London to paint a portrait of the Prince Charles. The prince was not particularly enthusiastic about posing for his portrait. he told Friberg, “This is not one of my favorite chores.” The artists and his royal subject did enjoy each other’s company, and there was a mutual respect between them. They also discovered a minor cultural gap that enabled Friberg to delight the prince with such old jokes as, “Why does a fireman wear read suspenders?” (To keep his pants up)

One of Arnold Friberg’s amazing adventure took place when he went to London to paint a portrait of Prince Charles. It was a great honor for an artist to be picked to create such a piece of artwork. Palace officials prepared a large painting room overlooking the gate and courtyard where the Changing of the Guard took place each day, the Victoria fountain, and the Male, a tree-lined road through St. James Park.

Friberg’s new art room contained massive easels built during the Victorian era, and there was canvas spread on the floor to protect the rich carpeting from paint stains. The walls were covered with hand-painted floral designs and a massive marble and gold fireplace was on one side of the room. There were fold mandarin figures and a gold dragon decorating the fireplace, while a large ornate chandelier hung overhead.

There is more to Arnold Friberg’s range or work than just his paintings and drawings. He became interested in the art form of sculpting. His first subject in this three-dimensional art form was to create a horse and rider that was cast in bronze through the lost wax process.

Sculpting is not really any great change in direction for Friberg. “if you understand the form well enough to draw it,” he claims, “you can model it; I don’t see why people are surprised that an artist can do both.”

The living quality of the horses in Arnold Friberg’s paintings comes from his fascination with both the large and the tiny anatomical features that affect each action of the horse, whether it be standing, drinking, walking, or galloping across the frontier. Friberg is an artist that believed strongly in the study of anatomy which many art schools objected too.

“I want to show the bones, the tendons, the muscles, and the blood vessels…this is all structure. There are some tiny ligaments, almost like straps or band-aids, wrapped over another muscle just to hold it so it doesn’t slip off the bone. They are so very thin that you almost never see them, except when the horse moves just a tiny bit, causing a slight strain. Then these little strap ligaments actually show up through the thick hid of the animal, and it’s fun to know what they are.”

Arnold Friberg claims that over the years some artists and art schools have objected to the study of anatomy, seeing it as restraining creative freedom and putting the artist into an “oh-so-correct” straightjacket. In contrast to this school of thought, Friberg find the study of anatomy to be exciting and powerful incentive to creative work.

“I dind I can do things with the body of a man or an animal because I understand what the form is and how it works.”

This one Arnold Friberg’s childhood cartoons entitled “Such is Life, by Arnold Friberg.” These types of illustrations were Friberg’s first attempt at original art. This cartoon was completed in 1921 at the age of seven.

While Arnold Friberg was still a student at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, he learned of a major competition known as the Prix de Rome, and he decided to compete.

In 1940, Friberg entered the required number of art pieces that he hoped would either win or at least give him the needed experience to take the prize during his next three years of eligibility. But the impending war would make his first such competition his last. His entry did not win, but he was told that all works submitted would be displayed in New York City.