Arnold Friberg, The Long Trail West, Circa 1980

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This artwork titled "TheLong Trail West" c.1980 is a color offset lithograph by renown western artist Arnold Friberg, 1913-2010. It … Read more This artwork titled "TheLong Trail West" c.1980 is a color offset lithograph by renown western artist Arnold Friberg, 1913-2010. It is hand signed and numbered 1241/1500 in pencil by the artist. The image size is 18 x 30.25 inches, sheet size is 22.25 x 34.25 inches. It is in excellent condition.

About the artist:

Artist Arnold Friberg graduated from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in 1935. In 1953, Cecil B. DeMille, after searching worldwide for a powerful Biblical artist, was shown Friberg's religious series then in progress. In 1957-58, Friberg's monumental 15 paintings series for The Ten Commandments toured the world, and was part of DeMille's exhibit honoring the 100th year of Hollywood, an exhibit seen by more than one-million viewers. In 1958, Arnold Friberg was made a life-time member by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), London, in recognition of his contribution to mankind through his work. Over a period of 42 years (1937-79), Friberg painted close to 300 representative "Mountie" images for the Northwest Paper Company. In 1978, the Friends of the Force, an affiliation of the R.C.M.P., commissioned Arnold Friberg to paint a life-size portrait of HRH Prince Charles with the splendid royal mount Centennial. The Friends of the Force were so pleased, they commissioned Mr. Friberg to paint a large royal equestrian portrait of HRM Queen Elizabeth II mounted on Centennial, in the palace garden at Buckingham. Other works of Arnold Friberg include: A series of 12 religious paintings commissioned by Mrs. Adele Cannon Howells; a 1969 series for General Motors depicting 100 years of American intercollegiate football; and a great number of highly prized historical paintings of the old American west. One favorite Friberg painting is the large, superb, The Prayer at Valley Forge, commissioned for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration. Arnold Friberg has been honored by his fellow artists and has been given tribute in western heritage art shows, most recently in 1991. Arnold Friberg has rightly earned his place as one of the enduring masters of our time. The son of Scandinavian immigrants born in Winnetka, Illinois in 1913, Arnold Friberg moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona in 1916. He is the only one of the sixteen Mountie artists still living. After graduating from high school, during which he earned money painting signs for local businesses, Friberg began formal art studies at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, where he first connected with the Mountie ad campaign of the Northwest Paper Company. Moving to New York City in 1940 to work in the publishing industry, Friberg enrolled in night classes at the Grand Central School of Art, where he studied under Harvey Dunn, one of the country's top illustrators. Friberg served with the 86th Infantry Division during WW II, where he was assigned to map making and training aid production. After the war, he opened a studio in San Francisco, and built his reputation as an illustrator by producing everything from package design to fashion illustration.
By 1950 Friberg and his wife had moved to Utah, where he taught commercial art at the University of Utah. At nearly ninety years old, he still resides there. (2003) In the 1950s, two major commissions brought Friberg world-wide attention. The first was a commission to paint a series of twelve paintings illustrating the Book of Mormon. The second, for which he won an Academy Award nomination, was as chief artist and designer for Cecil B. DeMille's 1957 film The Ten Commandments. Arnold Friberg was to become the most prolific the most well-known of all the Mountie artists. He spent great amounts of time researching the RCMP and their gear, First Nations Canadians, and the landscape of Western Canada. Because his paintings so well reflected the qualities they wanted to be known for, he is he only American ever made an honorary member of the RCMP. Besides their high degrees of detail, technical proficiency and finish, Friberg's Mountie paintings are imbued with great drama and poignancy, picturing the RCMP officer in every aspect of his wide-ranging duties. Because of his work with the Mounties and their horses, in 1978 Friberg was commissioned to paint near life-size equestrian portraits of H.R.H. Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II, with the great horse "Centennial." For these works, and in recognition of his lifetime of achievement in painting, Friberg was made a life member of the Royal Society of Arts, London. The work of arnold Friberg is held in collections and museums in the U.S and Canada. See less