While planning his immense biblical production, The Ten Commandments, Hollywood producer and director Cecil B. DeMille searched for an artist with both "the rare talent and inner vision to set down in the paint, all of the power, the color, [and] the human drama" he envisioned for his film. After a lengthy world-wide search, DeMille hired Friberg as chief artist and designer. Friberg produced hundreds of sketches and paintings that became the pictorial basis for the movie's scenes, characters, and principal costumes, establishing the visual tone and grandeur of the film. After the movie’s release, Friberg’s Ten Commandments paintings toured every continent and were viewed by millions of people.

Of Friberg, DeMille once stated, "Among the living artists who have dedicated their talents largely to religious art, Arnold Friberg stands out for his virility and warmth, dramatic understanding and truth. He has accomplished a strong and real service in bringing the truth of the Bible to a wider understanding, appreciation, and acceptance."

Friberg received an Academy Award nomination for his work on The Ten Commandments. He is a lifetime member of the ancient and honorable Royal Society of Arts, London. He is the only American named an honorary member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (in recognition of the more than 200 paintings and illustrations he created for the Mounties). He was commissioned to paint saloon scenes by Steven Wynn, owner of Wynn Las Vegas, scenes of the American West by the Louis F. Dow Calendar Company, and religious scenes that are published in The Book of Mormon.