After high school graduation, Arnold Friberg received unusual advice from his LDS bishop, who generally counseled young men to serve missions: Forego the mission. The Mormon bishop told Friberg to “Go to art school instead, for you will do more good through developing your talent than you could do in two years of door-to-door tracting.” Following that advice “with alacrity,” Friberg entered the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

In high school, crowds cheered Arnold Friberg’s athletic performance on the football field and in the boxing arena, but in greatest success came in the field of art. He did not like to paint things from his own life but rather paint things of great antiquity. In recognition of his talent, Friberg received three national art awards before high school graduation.

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.

Working in New York in the 1940s was rough on Arnold Friberg. He worked on finishing an art piece he planned on pitching to Liberty magazine and finished just before Labor day during a time when the artist was without money, had fallen seven weeks behind in his room rent, and frequently went without meals.

Fribeg was told that the cover design had been rejected because it did not fit with editorial plans. Nonetheless, the staff was impressed and offered Friberg a freelance job.

In 1936, while in Chicago, Arnold Friberg had designed a New Year’s art cover for the Southern Agriculturist depicting Father Time with an old plow. He was handing over the reins of the plow to Baby New Year, who was anxious to take control as Father Time pointed to a field of hard work ahead.

Most popular magazines of the 1930s and 1940s used symbolic illustrations on many of their covers. Father Time, Baby New Year, Uncle Sam, and other symbols regularly appeared on the magazines.

While attending art school in Chicago, Arnold Friberg learned to box in his spare time. There were gyms in the Chicago area where men could train to become professional fighters. Friberg had always desired to learn the art of self-defense, so he attended Trafton’s Gym on Randolph Street, where he was given the opportunity to be taught by professionals, even though he never attempted to involve himself in prize fighting.

The boxing was intended only for physical fitness, though Friberg did use his skills one night when he was entering a cafeteria. He glanced inside and saw nine gang members terrorizing a man who was working alone behind the counter. They were smashing dishes, throwing food, and generally wrecking the place.

Friberg raced inside to see what he could do. He positioned himself just right, with his back to the wall, so they could only come at him from the front. The gang members kept getting in each other’s way, so all Friberg had to do was strike out at whoever was closest to him. By the time the fight was over and the police had arrived, Friberg had beaten his opponents.

Short on funds, Arnold Friberg took more than a year off from school to earn enough money to complete a second year. This is so unlike the society we live in today, when most college students are able to take out loans or receive grants for their education.

Friberg worked for the James Lloyd Company as a freelance commercial artist. He prepared display work for exhibitions and fairs, price cards and menus for soda fountains, advertising cards for the wresting arena, and similar assignments.

He later prepared illustrations that were printed in eastern newspapers and magazines to lure tourists to the area. Phoenix, Arizona was counting on its reputation as a sun belt city to entice wealthy vacationers to leave the snow and cold and to enjoy the city’s resorts.

Ironically Friberg produced many of his Phoenix advertisements in a poorly heated building. Bundled in overcoats, constantly blowing his hands to keep warm, Friberg would heat his hands and then draw an illustration of smiling, lightly clad golfers under the blazing Arizona sun.

The life drawing art classes Arnold Friberg took his first year of college at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts were taught by two radically different artists: Von Schroeder and Weisenorn. The former studied in Munich and followed the German realist school of painting. He was concerned with detail and accuracy, and he stressed the need to pay attention to every detail and accuracy, and he stressed the need to pay attention to every facet of the human body. Alternating with Von Schroeder was Weisenborn, a modern artist who was seemingly unconcerned about traditional academic accuracy. The stark contrast in their teachings styles frustrated Arnold Friberg, that is, until it became apparent that an important lesson in art was being taught: there is no one right way to draw successfully. There are many different styles of art to choose from and it is important for students to understand all of them in their search of a unique approach.

In the midst of the Great Depression Arnold Friberg moved from small town Phoenix to Chicago in the fall 1931 to attend the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. This was the first time in the artists life that he could visit museums and see the works of great artists of the past and present.

On the first day of class, Arnold Friberg was faced with an attractive, red-haired model who was fully clothed. He sketched her face and worked to capture each pose. On the following day the same model waiting, only this time she was nude. Arnold Friberg had to begin learning to paint accurate renderings of human anatomy. He worked with a variety of models some old, fat, skinny, tall. The variety gave Arnold Friberg the experience of drawing and painting human subjects of all shapes and sizes. After the initial surprise of working with nude models, the work became a technical exercise not unlike drawing landscapes.