Bjarne Halvorsen was a Norwegian visual artist born in 1896 in Haugesund, the son of Halvor Sakariassen and Henriette Sakariassen. He studied at the State School of Crafts and Art in Oslo, evening school from 1914–17 and the day school under Eivind Nielsen from 1916–17. During this time 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 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.

     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.

     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.

     He was Chairman of the Visual Artists' Association in Haugesund, and a member of the Vestlandsutstillingen jury 1937, and a drawing teacher at Haugesunds lærlingeskole until 1948. 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. The Haugaland Museum has 10 works by the artist.