Study for Jacob by Arnold Friberg

Arnold Friberg (American, 1913–2010)
Study for Jacob
Graphite on paper
8½ × 5½ in.
Signed lower right: A. Friberg; inscribed “Study for Jacob”

This intimate head study presents a bearded patriarch rendered through layered, exploratory graphite lines. Friberg focuses on the weight of expression rather than anatomical finish, allowing the face to emerge gradually from a network of crosshatching and erased passages. The deep-set eyes and furrowed brow convey endurance, introspection, and moral gravity, while the loosely indicated head covering and shoulders dissolve into the surrounding paper. The unfinished edges and visible revisions emphasize the drawing’s role as a working image, capturing character and psychological presence rather than narrative setting.

Arnold Friberg was an American painter best known for his monumental religious and historical imagery, particularly works associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Trained at the Art Students League of New York, he combined academic draftsmanship with a dramatic, cinematic sensibility. Friberg’s preparatory drawings reveal the foundation of his practice, demonstrating how expressive line and focused observation shaped the powerful figures that define his finished paintings.