Arnold Friberg | Artist, 96
Arnold Friberg, 96, a Utah artist best known for his painting of George Washington in prayer at Valley Forge, died Thursday at a Salt Lake City rehabilitation center after hip-replacement surgery, his family said.
Arnold Friberg, 96, a Utah artist best known for his painting of George Washington in prayer at Valley Forge, died Thursday at a Salt Lake City rehabilitation center after hip-replacement surgery, his family said.
Mr. Friberg, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also painted portraits of figures from the Book of Mormon.
"He didn't want to be known as a Mormon artist," his daughter-in-law, Jayna Friberg-Cleamons, said. "He just wants to be defined as an artist that painted a wide range of things."
Mr. Friberg also painted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, his daughter-in-law said, holding forth in his own studio at Buckingham Palace for the commission.
A recorded message at Friberg Fine Art in Salt Lake City said the office would be closed until Tuesday in remembrance of Mr. Friberg, who also was nominated for an Academy Award in costume design and painted scenes for The Ten Commandments.
The Prayer at Valley Forge, which Mr. Friberg created to commemorate the Bicentennial in 1976, is displayed at the Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. It depicts Washington kneeling in the snow beside his horse. (See it and other work via http://go.philly.com/friberg)