This lifesized bronze bust of Arne Skarpsno depicts him as an older man with a serious look...and wearing what appears to be a baseball cap. Below the neck the work is not distinct. The work is set on a marble pedestal about 5 feet tall.
There is no information at the site about the artist or date. The pedestal has the inscription:
"GATEBARNAS
FAR
ARNE SKARPSNO"
or
"THE GATE
FOR
ARNE Skarpsno"
The Wikipedia page for Skarpsno is in Norwegian (
visit link) but Google tranlates it as:
"Arne Skarpsno (born May 7, 1926, died March 22, 2008) was known as "street children's father." He worked for the homeless, disadvantaged and drug addicts in Oslo for over 20 years. The rent of the premises he used his work was paid for by the state, and he handed out donated food for an estimated 200 million each year. It is believed that Skarpsno has helped many from death by giving them food and friendship. For his work for the disadvantaged, he was awarded the King's Medal of Merit in 1997. In 2007, it unveiled a bust of Arne Skarpsno the "Plata" in Oslo. During the unveiling, he made an appeal for people to do more for others.
A blood test in May 2006 showed that Skarpsno had cancer, and he was admitted to Akershus University Hospital in November of the same year, where he operated away a kidney and a tumor. After surgery, he continued his work for the homeless, but died aged 81 Easter Saturday, 22 March 2008, at Akershus University Hospital."