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SALT LAKE CITY — Eight “museum quality” portraits created by Arnold Friberg for the 1956 “Ten Commandments” film will be on display and open to the public in Salt Lake City on July 15 and 16.
Friberg, an American painter and illustrator famous for his religious works, began work on the art conceptualizations with Cecil B. DeMille for the film starring Charlton Heston in 1953. He created hundreds of images for the movie, including eight portraits of Moses that were used as references by makeup artists to represent the prophet through the years, according to RR Auction.
“Friberg was one of the greatest illustrative artists of the 20th century, and this collection is one of the most important discoveries in decades,” said Lawrence Jeppson, an art consultant, curator and author from Salt Lake City who will be in attendance at the exhibit.
Friberg was nominated for an Academy Award for his work as the movie’s chief artist, set and costume designer.
“Within each image, one can see the precision of Friberg’s celebrated style from top to bottom. His meticulous detail brings to life every feature, with the culmination of subtle changes telling not only the natural story of aging, but also revealing hints of the remarkable events that brought Moses to each stage (of life),” the auction house RR Auction wrote of the paintings.
The images are not signed by Friberg, but bear his handwriting across the top saying which period of Moses’ life they represent.
Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Zion Summit Condominiums will open its social room to the public, free of admission, to view “The Eight Faces of Moses” exhibit.
From there, RR Auction will take the paintings to Boston, where they will be exhibited for a short period of time before being auctioned on July 19.
In 2013, Utah celebrated the artist’s 100th birthday — though he had died in 2010 — with an exhibit of his “Ten Commandments” works, among others, and a showing of the movie.
