Presents. . . Presents. . .

Presents . . .
T HE L EGACY O F V ALLEY F ORGE
T H E DR E A DF U L W I N T E R AT VA L L E Y FORGE
H A S I NSPI R E D T H I S M AGN I F IC E N T H I STOR IC A L
M A S T E R PI E C E OF PAT R IO T IC A RT
HESE ARE THE TIMES THAT TRY MENS SOULS.
” So wrote Patrick
Henry, in words of desperation, written in the darkest hours of our
struggle for liberty.
The picture you see here was painted to recall that winter of
1777-78, at the lowest, most hopeless and discouraging time in our
revolutionary war. For the struggling Americans had been defeated
by the mighty British army in battle after battle, and were fast losing
all hope. It was at such a time that General Washington humbly
beseeched his God for the strength and the resolution to endure.
But it is not alone in time of war that our country has sought
aid and guidance from above. For America has long established the
annual observance of a National Day of Prayer. The solemn purpose
of such a day has been eloquently expressed by America’s president in
these words from his official proclamation:
“Since our nation’s founding, Americans have turned to prayer
for inspiration, strength, and guidance. In times of trial, we ask God
for wisdom, courage, direction, and comfort. We offer thanks for
the countless blessings God has provided. And we thank God for
sanctifying every human life by creating each of us in His image. As
we observe this National Day of Prayer, we call upon the Almighty
to continue to bless America and her people.
God has blessed our nation beyond measure. We give thanks to
God for our family and loved ones, for the abundance of our land
and the fruits of our labor, for our unalienable rights and liberties,
and for a great nation that leads the world in efforts to preserve those
rights and liberties.
I ask Americans to pray for God’s protection, to express gratitude
for our blessings, and to seek moral and spiritual renewal.”
“WE TRUST THAT THIS PAINTING WILL create a lasting legacy that can be viewed and remembered
by all citizens and visitors as a symbol of this nation’s birth that eloquently communicates the
need for prayer in guiding the people and leaders of the United States of America.”
- Peter Dominy C.E.O. Friberg Fine Art, Inc.
Copyright © 2004 Arnold Friberg, published by Friberg Fine Art, Inc.
Ar tist’s notes on the painting
H OW A N D W H Y T H I S PA INTING C A M E TO BE
Washington, drawn by Friberg at age 12
I was a boy I have revered George Washington. At age 12 I drew
what I thought was a fine picture of him astride his white horse. Along
with learning the American legend of his praying at Valley Forge, this deep
inspiration from boyhood days was never to leave me.
And so it was that I waited many years to picture him again, now in
prayer, in the snow, dismounted from his strong horse, only this time
pictured large, in the full power and richness of oil colors on canvas.
To prepare for this painting, to insure accuracy in trees and landscape,
I made a pilgrimage to Valley Forge, in the dead of winter. It was deserted,
the wind moaning through the great trees, silent, lonely, cold. It was a cold
that chilled to the bone, a cold that froze my fingers until I could no longer
sketch nor even snap my camera.
To insure authenticity in man made things, I sought out whatever
museums, collections, libraries, or informed individuals could offer on
clothing or horse gear. At the Smithsonian Military History Museum I
made minutely accurate sketches from the very uniform actually worn
by Washington. Also I sketched his sword, spurs, bits and stirrups, still
preserved at Mount Vernon and at Valley Forge Museum. Thus, so far
as historical delving goes, I believe this picture to be as faithful as is
reasonably possible.
For Washington’s likeness, I studied every portrait sketched, carved
or painted of him during his lifetime. But I had to keep in mind that
such likenesses were mostly done several years after the ordeal at Valley
Forge, and so I tried to recall rather how cold and raw boned he must
have looked during that winter at Valley Forge.
INCE
But such research, vital as it is, provides only the physical facts.
What I really tried for was, through the medium of oil paint, to recall
the pain, the cold of that cruel winter of 1777-1778, and to pay tribute
to the tall and heavy-burdened man who alone held the struggling
nation together.
For while the British grew fat and warm and well fed in
Philadelphia, it was the man Washington who stayed with his starving
and freezing army through the dreadful winter at Valley Forge. It
was in desperation that he wrote the governor of New Jersey, ...“our
sick naked, our well naked, our unfortunate men in captivity naked!"
With his own countrymen indifferent to their condition, where else
could he turn but to God?
We have heard the oft-repeated historical testimony of Isaac
Potts, who witnessed Washington at prayer. Yet it should be plain to
anyone that this is a symbolic picture, rather than a minutely provable
museum reconstruction.
For it is Washington’s own words that leave us no doubt of his
deep and humble dependence upon whom he chose to call, ...“that all
wise and powerful Being on whom alone our success depends”. It
is my fervent hope and prayer that coming through this picture will
once again whisper the spirit of Valley Forge, of suffering, devotion,
and pain, of yearning for liberty, and of the hand of God in the
affairs of men.
Sketch from a period
military saddle
Sketch from a live horse
to record low sunset light
Preliminary composition done in oil
Sketch from Houdon’s sculpture,
the head tilted to proper angle in low sunset light
Study for Washington’s powerful hands.
(Both LaFayette and sculptor Houdon
remarked on his huge hands.)
Sketches of period military bridles
Detail sketches from Washington’s actual sword
A R E NOW N E D A RT I S T H A S DE VO T E D
H I S TA L E N T TO T H E C AUSE OF L I BE RT Y
HIS MAGNIFICENT PAINTING,
“The Prayer
at Valley Forge”, clearly demonstrates why
Arnold Friberg has achieved fame as the
greatest living interpreter of historical, Biblical,
and western subjects. Combining rare artistic
skill with a profound respect for the most
minute historical details, he has imbued his
painting with a dynamic realism “unsurpassed
by any contemporary inspirational artist”.
Filled with rich color, strengthened with superb
draughtsmanship and historical accuracy, his
paintings convey a living realism, a grandeur,
and a spiritual force of a particularly masculine
kind. But Friberg’s real power derives from the
dedication of his talent to a cause greater than
the artist. His art is made to serve.
“The Prayer at Valley Forge” was painted to
serve the cause of liberty, to remind Americans
of the deep spiritual roots of our beloved
country, to recall a place of cold, and pain and
sacrifice, to pay tribute to the tall and lonely man
who alone held the struggling nation together,
General Washington, driven to his knees there
in the bitter snows of Valley Forge.
Friberg at work, surrounded by costumes and
props used in the painting.
Friberg was Cecil B. DeMille’s chief artist for his motion picture, “ The Ten Commandments”
“Among the living artists who have dedicated themselves almost exclusively to religious art, one
stands out for his virility and warmth, dramatic understanding and truth.”
- Cecil B. DeMille
“ Arnold Friberg is the Phidias of religious art”
- Norman Rockwell
Detail sketches from
Washington’s actual uniform
“ T H E PR AY E R AT VA L L E Y FORGE”
T H E E Y E W I T N E S S T E S T I M O N Y O F ISAAC POTTS
This story is well documented in the historical records. Isaac Potts, 26 years old, was a resident of Valley Forge, and as a Quaker was opposed to the
war however, he supervised the grinding of the grain which Washington ordered the neighboring farmers to bring to his army. The fullest account
of Potts’ testimony is in the “Diary and Remembrances” of Rev. Nathaniel Randolph Snowden, a Presbyterian minister and a Princeton graduate.
The following are his words.
was riding with him (Mr. Potts) near Valley Forge, where the army
lay during the war of the Revolution. Mr. Potts was a Senator in
our state and a Whig. I told him I was agreeably surprised to find him
a friend to his country as the Quakers were mostly Tories. He said “It
was so and I was a rank Tory once, for I never believed that America
could proceed against Great Britain whose fleets and armies covered
the land and ocean. But something very extraordinary converted me to
the good faith.”
“What was that?” I inquired. “Do you see that woods, and that
plain?” It was about a quarter of a mile from the place we were
riding. “There,” said he, “laid the army of Washington. It was a most
distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up the ship but that
one good man. In that woods,” pointing to a close in view, “I heard a
plaintive sound, as of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling and
went quietly into the woods and to my astonishment I saw the great
George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and
his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies,
beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis and the
cause of the country, of humanity, and of the world.
“Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone
praying. I went home and told my wife, ‘I saw a sight and heard today
what I never saw or heard before’, and just related to her what I had seen
and heard and observed. We never thought a man could be a soldier
and a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington.
We thought it was the cause of God, and America could prevail.”
The concluding words of Washington’s farewell address, resigning his
commission as General of the Continental Army. December 28th 1783
T H E P OW E R OF A NAT ION I S C A P T U R E D I N
T H I S R A R E L I M I T E D R E L E A SE , T H E MOST P OW E R F U L
A M E R IC A N M A S T E R PI E C E E V E R PA I N T E D.
Limited Edition
Collectors Edition
Signed and Numbered
Artist Proof
Studio Proof
Museum Edition
Signed and Numbered
Artist Proof
Studio Proof
Edition
Size
Image Size
Frame Size
Retail
1000
100
25
31" x 50"
35" x 56"
35" x 56"
39" x 58"
45" x 66"
45" x 66"
$5,000
$7,500
$15,000
225
25
5
45" x 72"
45" x 72"
45" x 72"
59" x 86"
59" x 86"
59" x 86"
$22,500
$27,500
$40,000
“The Prayer at Valley Forge” is the supreme masterpiece of one of the few authentic geniuses of American art. Created at a critical time in
our history, when the art establishment embraced so much meaningless abstraction, this stunningly realistic depiction of George Washington
on his knees before God marked a very courageous affirmation of faith, tradition, patriotism, and the true spirit of America’s founding.”
- Thomas S. Winter, Editor-in-Chief, Human Events
Stud io Pr oof
Each Giclée comes with a
"Valley Forge" Portfolio and
a Certificate of Authenticity
A Giclée on canvas captures
and reproduces the nuance and
splendor of the original work
of art and is the highest quality
fine art available. The Studio
Proofs are meticulously handbrushed by Arnold Friberg
himself to bring profundity and
individuality into each Giclée.
The Studio Edition bears the
artist’s hand-signed signature
and Edition number.