Bjarne Halvorsen was a Norwegian visual artist born in 1896 in Haugesund, the son of Halvor Sakariassen and Henriette Sakariassen. During his education he lived in Kristiania and designed for the magazine Hvepsen. Later he moved back to Haugesund where he designed for the politlcal/satirical magazines Gneisten and Klodsmajoren.

     As a painter, he was a typical hometown painter. He found his motives in the city and in the surrounding area, especially in Kvalvåg outside Haugesund where he had a country house. He also painted children, flowers and some portraits. In the oldest paintings, his background as a draftsman is clear, but gradually he came to a freer and more picturesque form. In particular, a stay in his wife Svanfrid's homeland of Iceland in the early 1930s was stimulating.

     Halvorsen was a very important social commentator in Haugesund in the interwar period. His work coincided with a time of significant social changes in Haugesund. Housing shortages and bottomless poverty were the flip side of a city that also grew in population and wealth. As artist Bjarne Halvorsen met both, his artistry reflected both the times he lived in and who he was like a man. He was a very active social debater, critical of injustice and laxity among the wealthy, and with strong empathy towards the poor and needy.

     In many of the motifs we see also another side to Halvorsen, a father who adored his children and who actively took part of the two daughters' lives from when they were quite young. Children were one of his favorite subjects. He also loved nature and outdoor life, and many motifs are taken from walks in the area around the cabin in Kvalvåg.

     As an illustrator in satirical magazines and newspapers, he was able to criticize the policies in his own town that he disagreed with. As a visual artist, however, he brought out the many qualities that also characterizes life in a small town by the sea. Halvorsen mastered both being a social reformer and being hometown painter.
     He participated in the West Norway exhibition several times. He made several public decorations, including in the children's room at Haugesund Hospital and in the party hall of Haugesund Handelstandsforening.

     In 2010 the Haugesund Art Association and Haugesund Picture Gallery held a memorial exhibition of Halvorsen's artistic works. The Haugaland Museum has 10 works by the artist.