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Arnold Friberg paintings for The Ten Commandments

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8821

Scope and Contents

Collection of eight artistic renderings of Moses created by Arnold Friberg as commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille for the 1956 film The Ten Commandments. They were created with oil paint on board and have been professionally framed.

Dates

  • approximately 1956

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Condition restricted; patrons should use reproductions (digital prints or disc with scanned paintings).

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Arnold Friberg paintings for The Ten Commandments must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical / Historical

Arnold Friberg (1913-2010) was a famous Mormon artist. Arnold Friberg was born December 21, 1913 in Illinois to Sven Friberg and Ingeborg Solberg Friberg. He moved with his family to Arizona when he was three years old, where his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He began as a painting apprentice at the age of 13. After high school, Friberg attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, after which he moved to New York, where he studied at the Grand Central School of Art and worked for advertising agencies and painted covers for The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines. He was drafted into the Army during World War II and was asked to work as an artist with the rank of captain. Instead he chose to go into the infantry as an enlisted man. He served in Europe and in the Pacific. He married Hedve Mae Baxter, who died in 1986, and then remarried Heidi Miller Grosskopf in 1989. He had four children (two of which were step-children.) From early in his career, Friberg was a well-known artist. He received commissions from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to paint images for them, as well as receiving a commission from Cecil B. DeMille to paint advertising images for The Ten Commandments. He is well known among the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for painting scenes from the Book of Mormon. His most famous painting is entitled "Prayer at Valley Forge," and depicts George Washington kneeling in prayer. Friberg died on July 1, 2010 from complications after hip replacement surgery.

Biographical / Historical

Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959) was an American motion picture producer and director, considered the archetype of the American film mogul. His 70 films reflect changing American tastes and values, and he was particularly noted for his multimillion-dollar spectacles. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 to Henry Churchill de Mille and Matilda Beatrice Samuel de Mille. DeMille started acting on Broadway in 1900 and by 1913 he joined a film studio partnership which would eventually become Paramount Pictures. DeMille had a long and storied carrier as a filmmaker and directed several epic films, such as the Ten Commandments (1956). DeMille died on January 21, 1959.

Extent

8 oversize boxes (8 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection of eight artistic renderings of Moses created by Arnold Friberg as commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille for the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.

Custodial History

The paintings were created by Arnold Friberg for the 1956 film The Ten Commandments. The materials were eventually acquired by the R.R. Auction company in Amherst, NH, and were sold to BYU in December 2015. The funds to purchase the paintings were donated by Rex Maughan.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased; R.R. Auction; 2015.

Appraisal

Arts and Communications.

Processing Information

Processed; Mary-Celeste Ricks; 2016.

Title
Register of Arnold Friberg paintings for The Ten Commandments
Status
Completed
Author
Mary-Celeste Ricks
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States