Alf Rolfsen

Alf Rolfsen (28 January 1895 – 10 November 1979) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and writer.

Personal life

Rolfsen was born in Kristiania as the son of writer Nordahl Rolfsen and Hedevig Martha Hastrup Birch. He was married to Ingrid Platou from 1920.

Career

Rolfsen is represented in the National Gallery of Norway with several oil paintings, such as Kilden from 1926, Gruppe from 1931 and Den store stasjon from 1932. He is best known for his fresco paintings. His main work is the decoration of Oslo Vestre Krematorium, and he decorated churches and public buildings, such as the Oslo City Hall and Haugesund City Hall. In 1938, Rolfsen was given the task of decorating three of the walls in the Central Hall of the Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony has been held annually since 1990. The northern wall is covered by the painting titled Arbeidets Norge fra de drivende garn til skovene i øst. On the eastern wall is the work Okkupasjonshistorien, about 30 metres long, with motives from the occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The painting on the western wall is called St. Hallvard, after Oslo's patron saint. The decorations of the City Hall were finished and uncovered in 1950.

Among Rolfsen's book illustrations are an edition of Asbjørnsen and Moe's fairy tales and later editions of his father's readers. He has written books and articles on art and artists.

Rolfsen was decorated Knight of the Swedish Order of the Polar Star in 1937, and Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1955. He received the Prince Eugen Medal in 1951 and the Arts Council Norway Honorary Award in 1971.