Biblical artists who tried to recreate Moses and the ten commandments faced many challenges. Nowhere in the scriptures is there an indication of the size of the tablets, their weight, their thickness, or any other physical details.

Arnold Friberg faced a similar challenge when he sought to depict the Liahona. All the artist had to work with was this  scripture from the Book of Mormon: “It was a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.”

There is a lack of artistic descriptive words. Nowhere is there a description of its appearance or its size in any greater detail for Friberg to use.

In the end Friberg decision was to make the Liahona an object that could be easily transported. The artist decided that it would be approximately five inches in diameter so that it could fit comfortably in a man’s hand. Friberg also felt that since it was round, the Liahona would probably have some sort of stand to hold it while not in use. So a round stand with three legs were created into which the Liahona would rest.

Arnold Friberg was working as a freelance artist in Chicago when he met Hedve. She grew up in the small town of American Fork, Utah and was not used to the cosmopolitan life that Friberg new well. She took in a room at the Friberg’s home, but it was at church that the two got to know each other well.

Hedve shared with Friberg the Mormon faith and as luck would have it she was assigned to same committee as the famous artist, the decoration committee. The two would help prepare the cultural hall for dances and other various LDS church sponsored activities. Friberg was excited that Hedve was on the same committee. He always felt that the only way to know someone was by working with them.

The two became close friends by the time Friberg was drafted as a result of World War II. The friendship led to marriage.

Arnold Friberg turned to Church leaders for historical and doctrinal suggestions before he started painting the scenes from the Book of Mormon. The artist had questions about antiquity and archeological findings as well as about hair length and clothing but was surprised to find that opinions varied from LDS leader to LDS leader. And with that variation grew a personal frustration in attempting to paint another’s artistic interpretation of scripture when Friberg had thoughts of his own.

Friberg wanted to paint heroes that appeared legendary in stature. The artist thought the idea that mankind is wretched and little is wrong. Friberg has said that the muscularity in my paintings is only an expression of the spirit within. When the artist painted Nephi, he painted the interior, the greatness, the largeness of spirit. This artistic philosophy too often left him feeling ostracized.

After Arnold Friberg’s first wife’s death in 1986 a darkness came into his pictures. But happier times were around the corner.

Friberg spent several weeks working at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle on the royal equestrian portrait.

Arnold Friberg went through years of rigorous training as a freelance artist and as an art student in Chicago. But in spite of all the art training Friberg’s big break did not come until 1937 when the Northwest Paper Company, a manufacturer of fine printing paper, commissioned the artist to create a pictorial symbol for the Northwest Mounted Police department.

From Arnold Friberg’s first illustration of the “Mounties,” to his last, the famous artists depictions of athletic uniformed men became the collector’s items and helped make Friberg the only American invited to be honorary member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His series of three hundred paintings over a thirty-eight-year commission is recognized as the longest running series of illustrations in advertising history.

By age thirteen, Arnold Friberg turned pro and was working for a sign painter. At fourteen, the young artist enrolled in the Federal Schools of Minneapolis, a correspondence school for commercial artists. Before the year ended, Friberg was self-employed, painting signs and displays for theaters, real-estate entrepreneurs, and the manager of the local wrestling arena. By age fifteen, the young artist had been hired by Safeway grocery store to paint signs, and a local vaudeville production had employed him to do “chalk talk” acts on stage. Friberg liked “chalk talk.” On stage he drew legendary characters to the delight of cheering crowds.

Last week, Arnold Friberg auctioned off his painting The Light of Christ. Although the final bid amount has not been released yet it was estimated the art would sell for an amount between $700,000 and $1,000,000.

Friberg wants to auction off his most famous painting from his art collection, The Prayer At Valley Forge, which is predicted to sell for in the millions.

Arnold Friberg was giving special permission to use his own camera to take pictures of the set that he would use to recreate artwork to publicize the film.

A funny thing happened to Friberg when preparing to take pictures of the scene when Moses parts the Red Sea. With all the special effects setup the scene could only be shot only once. Friberg was given special permission to position himself directly under the film camera. When the shot happened, and the walls of water came together, Friberg snapped his camera. But there was no click. He had forgotten to cock the shutter. Quickly, the artist tried again, but it was too late. The scene had been filmed, never to be duplicated, and Arnold Friberg’s photograph was snapped a moment too late.

Arnold Friberg’s is auctioning off his painting The Light of Christ. It is among his most famous religious art pieces.

Friberg’s oil painting depicts the resurrected Christ. In order to bid on the painting, either in person or live by phone, it requires a $25,000 deposit.

Friberg is also looking to auction off his most famous painting, The Prayer at Valley Forge, which is worth millions. The artist hopes it will find a home in the American Revolution Museum scheduled to open in 2011.
For more information on the Friberg auction visit: http://salesandauction.com/101508.htm

Arnold Friberg was asked by movie director Cecil B. DeMille to work as the production artist on the film, The Ten Commandments, after he saw some of Friberg’s Book of Mormon paintings.

But one interesting part of Fribeg’s job while working on the movie was to help the writers understand what DeMille wanted by giving artistic forms of the scenes conceived by DeMille. The movie director had conceived the entire film in his head before before a script was written. Friberg would sketch scenes and the writers would use them for the basis for dialogue and action.

There were so many scenes for Friberg to picture that the artist often quickly sketched in pencil or watercolor. But some Friberg more elaborately planned and painted in oils. The crossing of the Red Sea, for example, was first produced as a massive oil painting, then the filming was planned around the effects Friberg created.

Friberg’s painting of the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea reveals a diverse group of people, each with an individual story. When the artist conceived of the people to be depicted in the Exodus scene, Friberg drew upon the memories of his army days. During his tour of duty in Europe, the artist witnessed the endless throngs of displaced people clogging the roads of Germany. They carried all of their belongings and, much like the Israelites, they did not know where they were going or what the future would hold.