Monday, July 05, 2010

Arnold Friberg (1913-2010)

A few people have sent me notes in the last week to let me know that Arnold Friberg had passed away. Among those who wrote was illustrator Greg Newbold. Greg actually met Friberg a couple of years ago and wrote about that encounter on his blog.

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Greg wrote, "As a member of the Mormon faith, I certainly feel the loss of his great talent. As I mentioned in my post, I first saw his paintings reproduced in the Book of Mormon long before I could read the words it contained. His images defined the visual look of those scripture stories."

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To be honest, until the news of Friberg's passing began to arrive, I was not familiar with this artist, so my thanks to all those who contacted me. And thanks especially to Greg, who generously provided the scans for today's post.

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Be sure to visit Greg's blog to see more examples of Arnold Friberg's beautiful artwork, see some wonderful photos of the artist, and read Greg's very interesting and informative post!
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8 comments:

  1. Unknown1:07 PM

    Thanks for the link Leif. I should have been more accurate when I mentioned I am a member of the "Mormon faith". That moniker gets perpetuated because it is familiar. The correct name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to which Arnold Friberg also belonged. Friberg often mentioned feeling like "God was whispering in his ear to paint something" and his deep spiritual feelings are evident in his work. Anyone wanting more info regarding the church can click the links at the end of my blog post.

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  2. La Belle Esplanade3:16 PM

    These are some beautiful paintings. Thanks to both of you for sharing.

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  3. Charlie Allen3:37 PM

    Thanks for posting this artist, Leif. The name is familiar, but I don't recall his work....which is outstanding. Would love to see more if someone has it.

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  4. Carolyn9:31 AM

    Very cool work. I like his style very much. Thank you for showing us this

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  5. Rich10:25 AM

    That's some truly great stuff!
    Reminds me of Jehovah's Witnesses knocking at my door from time to time. I always look at the illustrations in the pamphlets they leave with me - some of them are top notch! And on top of it they are always without signature - the illustrator remains anonymous.

    Like the sacral painters in olden days, who left no sign nor trace. Humble devoted fellows.

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  6. SCOTT CAPLE9:32 AM

    Friberg! Oh yeah!
    never seen the originals but they are on display in Salt Lake City.. I got my copy of the Book of Mormon while working for Don Bluth in Ireland, which I kept for the illustrations...no matter the philosophy, the skill can't be beaten!

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  7. Tom2:05 PM

    Leif, great post on a fabulous illustrator. An example of tremendous drawing and painting skills coupled with a dramatic theatrical approach.. realism at its finest. Friberg also did an excellent series on the old Royal Canadian Mounties for a calendar series. Some people assume it was illustrated by Norman Rockwell. I will do some research and get back to you on that series.

    Tom Watson

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  8. Unknown6:31 AM

    Here's an article from a local news station here, it has a few other photos of his paintings, he also did that one of Washington praying in the forest.

    http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11504883

    I could find no way to edit my post so I deleted the other one, forgot to include the URL, and there were spelling issues. Geez.

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