Nathan Oliveira

(American, 1928–2010)

Nathan Oliveira was an American artist and prominent member of the second generation of the Bay Area Figurative artists. Though he worked with a variety of media, subjects, and disciplines over the course of his long career, Oliveira is best remembered for the brilliantly colored figurative and landscape paintings he created while associated with the California movement. “For me, painting is that magical material, that beautiful stuff that was invented, the ground-up pigments in oil which makes it very malleable,” he had said. “It can be manipulated and changed, darkened, lightened, given different hues and colors, so that by manipulating this material somehow I can find that figure I'm looking for, that figure that represents all the issues I'm bringing up and addressing.” Oliveira's works retain a sense of Expressionist looseness and melancholy, inspired by his interest in the works of Willem de Kooning, Francis Bacon, and Edvard Munch. His work has been met with critical acclaim, receiving numerous honors such as a 1996 Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and a major retrospective in 2002, “The Art of Nathan Oliveira,” mounted by the San Jose Art Museum. The Windhover Contemplative Center, a structure completed in 2014 at Stanford University, permanently displays four of Oliveira's paintings. Born in Oakland, CA on December 19, 1928, he died on November 13, 2010 in Stanford, CA at the age 81.

Nathan Oliveira Artworks

Nathan Oliveira (621 results)
Untitled (Reclining Nude), 1961

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Reclining Nude), 1961

Sale Date: September 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: September 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Jaguar, 1977

Nathan Oliveira

Jaguar, 1977

Sale Date: September 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Tamarind Site #1

Nathan Oliveira

Tamarind Site #1

Sale Date: September 15, 2019

Auction Closed

Reclining Nude with Striped Stocking

Nathan Oliveira

Reclining Nude with Striped Stocking

Sale Date: September 15, 2019

Auction Closed

Santa Fe Nude, 2004

Nathan Oliveira

Santa Fe Nude, 2004

Sale Date: August 28, 2019

Auction Closed

CCA Nude, 2004

Nathan Oliveira

CCA Nude, 2004

Sale Date: August 21, 2019

Auction Closed

Revisited VI, 1997

Nathan Oliveira

Revisited VI, 1997

Sale Date: August 11, 2019

Auction Closed

Rainbow Head, 1972

Nathan Oliveira

Rainbow Head, 1972

Sale Date: August 11, 2019

Auction Closed

The New Mexican Sites #4, 1991

Nathan Oliveira

The New Mexican Sites #4, 1991

Sale Date: July 14, 2019

Auction Closed

Angel Rocker, 2005

Nathan Oliveira

Angel Rocker, 2005

Sale Date: May 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Figure 1, 2007

Nathan Oliveira

Figure 1, 2007

Sale Date: May 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1972

Sale Date: May 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Figure Four, 1983

Nathan Oliveira

Figure Four, 1983

Sale Date: May 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Gun, 2009

Nathan Oliveira

Gun, 2009

Sale Date: February 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Runner, 2007

Nathan Oliveira

Runner, 2007

Sale Date: February 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Nathan Oliveira

"Head of Light", 1966

Sale Date: February 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Nathan Oliveira

"Blue Nude", 1975

Sale Date: February 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Nathan Oliveira

"Tamarind Site I", 1982

Sale Date: February 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Three Californian Persimmons, 1980

Nathan Oliveira

Three Californian Persimmons, 1980

Sale Date: January 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (Seated Female Nude) and Untitled..., 1965

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Seated Female Nude) and Untitled..., 1965

Sale Date: November 29, 2018

Auction Closed

Nathan Oliveira

"Archive Site", 1979

Sale Date: November 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Nathan Oliveira

"Untitled (Man)", 1989

Sale Date: November 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Hawk, 1980

Nathan Oliveira

Hawk, 1980

Sale Date: November 10, 2018

Auction Closed