View source for Alf Rolfsen

{{Short description|Norwegian painter (1895–1979)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
'''Alf Rolfsen''' (28 January 1895 – 10 November 1979) was a Norwegian painter and muralist.<ref>{{cite web
|url =https://nkl.snl.no/Alf_Rolfsen  |title=Alf Rolfsen|publisher =Norsk kunstnerleksikon |author= Leif Østby|accessdate= May 1, 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Oslo City Hall - The place where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented (29879653935).jpg |thumb|right |300 px|[[Oslo City Hall]], site of the  [[Nobel Peace Prize]] ceremonies]]
[[File:Le grand hall de lhôtel de ville dOslo (4853550193).jpg |thumb|right |300 px|Fresco decorations in the Central Hall at [[Oslo City Hall]] ]]
==Personal life==
Rolfsen was born in [[Oslo|Kristiania]] (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of writer [[Nordahl Rolfsen]] (1848–1928) and Hedevig Martha Hastrup Birch (1858–1937). He was married to Ingrid Platou (1893–1980) in 1920. He was a cousin of both poet [[Nordahl Grieg]] (1902–1943) and publisher [[Harald Grieg]] (1894–1972).<ref name=nbl/>
==Career==
He studied art under Danish artist Peter Rostrup Bøyesen (1882–1952) in Copenhagen from 1913 to 1916. He debuted in [[Copenhagen]] in 1916, followed by study in [[Paris]] from 1919 to 1920 where he was strongly influenced by [[André Derain]] (1880–1954).  After returning home, he held his first solo exhibition at Oslo in 1920. Rolfsen followed with a series of study trips to Italy during 1921–22.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://denstoredanske.dk/Dansk_Biografisk_Leksikon/Kunst_og_kultur/Billedkunst/Maler/P._Rostrup_B%C3%B8yesen |title=P. Rostrup Bøyesen|publisher = Den Store Danske |accessdate= May 1, 2018}}</ref>
In 1922, he was given the task of painting the foundation wall in the exhibition hall at the new Telegraph Building at Kongens gate 21 in Oslo. The building was completed in 1924 based upon designs by architects [[Arnstein Arneberg]] (1882–1961) and [[Magnus Poulsson]] (1881–1958).<ref>{{cite web|url = https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/Telegrafbygningen_(Oslo)|title=Telegrafbygningen (Oslo)|publisher = lokalhistoriewiki |accessdate= May 1, 2018}}</ref>
In 1938, Rolfsen was given the task of decorating three of the walls in the Central Hall of the Oslo City Hall ({{Lang|no|Oslo rådhus}}), the site at which the annual [[Nobel Peace Prize]] ceremonies have been held since 1990.
The northern wall is covered by the painting titled {{Lang|no|Arbeidets Norge fra de drivende garn til skovene i øst}}. On the eastern wall is the work {{Lang|no|Okkupasjonshistorien}}, about {{Convert|30|m|ft|abbr=out}} long, with motifs from the [[Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]].  The painting on the western wall is titled {{Lang|no|St. Hallvard}} in recognition of Oslo's patron saint, [[Hallvard Vebjørnsson]]. The decorations of the City Hall were finished and uncovered in 1950.<ref name=nbl/>
<ref>{{cite web|url = https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/Oslo_r%C3%A5dhus|title= Oslo rådhus|publisher = lokalhistoriewiki |accessdate= May 1, 2018}}</ref>
Rolfsen is best known for his fresco paintings. His principal works include the decoration of crematorium at [[Vestre gravlund]] in Oslo from 1932 to 1937 and the Haugesund City Hall from 1952 to 1954.  He also decorated a number of churches including [[Stiklestad Church]] in [[Verdal]] from 1929 to 1930 and [[Ullensaker Church]] in [[Akershus]] from 1958. He is represented at the [[National Gallery of Norway]] in Oslo with several oil paintings including {{Lang|no|Kilden}} from 1926, {{Lang|no|Gruppe}} from 1931 and {{Lang|no|Den store stasjon}} from 1932.<ref name=nbl/>
<ref name=radhus>{{cite web|title=The City Hall |url=http://www.radhusets-forvaltningstjeneste.oslo.kommune.no/radhuset/oslo_city_hall/the_city_hall/ |accessdate=17 September 2009 |publisher=Oslo kommune. Rådhusets forvaltningstjeneste }}</ref>
Among Rolfsen's book illustrations are an edition of [[Asbjørnsen and Moe]]'s fairy tales and later editions of his father's readers. He also wrote books and articles on art and artists.<ref name=snl>{{cite encyclopedia|year=2007|title=Alf Rolfsen |encyclopedia=[[Store norske leksikon]]|publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget|location=Oslo |url=http://www.snl.no/Alf_Rolfsen |editor=Henriksen, Petter|language=Norwegian|accessdate=13 September 2009 }}</ref>
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. During 1971, he received both the [[Norsk kulturråds ærespris|Arts Council Norway Honorary Award]] ({{Lang|no|Norsk kulturråds ærespris}}) and the [[St. Hallvard Medal]] ({{Lang|no|St. Hallvard-medaljen}}).
<ref name=nbl>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Alf Rolfsen |encyclopedia=[[Norsk biografisk leksikon]]|first=Glenny |last=Alfsen |editor=[[Knut Helle|Helle, Knut]]|publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget|location=Oslo|url=http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Alf_Rolfsen/utdypning |language=Norwegian|accessdate=13 September 2009}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.royalcourt.se/download/18.30963a1811be3fda3ab80008195/Prins+Eugen-medaljen+1945-2010.pdf| title = Prins Eugen Medaljen| accessdate = 14 February 2015| archive-date = 29 March 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200329015037/https://www.kungahuset.se/download/18.30963a1811be3fda3ab80008195/Prins+Eugen-medaljen+1945-2010.pdf| url-status = dead}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url =  https://snl.no/Norsk_kulturr%C3%A5ds_%C3%A6respris|title= Norsk kulturråds ærespris|publisher = Store norske leksikon
|accessdate= May 1, 2018}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url =  https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/St._Hallvard-medaljen |title=St. Hallvard-medaljen|publisher = lokalhistoriewiki |accessdate= May 1, 2018}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://samling.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/term/producer/Alf%20Rolfsen Alf Rolfsen collection at the National Gallery, Oslo]
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{{s-ach|aw}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Alf Prøysen]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = Recipient of the [[Norsk kulturråds ærespris]] | years = 1971}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Klaus Egge]]}}
{{end}}
{{Authority control (arts)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolfsen, Alf}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Painters from Oslo]]
[[Category:Writers from Oslo]]
[[Category:Norwegian muralists]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian painters]]
[[Category:Norwegian male painters]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of the Polar Star]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian male artists]]
[[Category:Norwegian expatriates in Denmark]]