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)
Hawk, 1980

Nathan Oliveira

Hawk, 1980

Sale Date: October 13, 2014

Auction Closed

Reclining Red Female Nude, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Reclining Red Female Nude, 1973

Sale Date: October 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Dog Man, 1994

Nathan Oliveira

Dog Man, 1994

Sale Date: August 10, 2014

Auction Closed

Kestrel Series, 1985

Nathan Oliveira

Kestrel Series, 1985

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1959

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1959

Sale Date: May 11, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled (Cameo), 1959

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Cameo), 1959

Sale Date: April 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Standing figure, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Standing figure, 1973

Sale Date: April 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Man, 1989

Nathan Oliveira

Man, 1989

Sale Date: April 22, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled (Head #1-69), 1968

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Head #1-69), 1968

Sale Date: March 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled (Pyramid with apparition), 1967

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Pyramid with apparition), 1967

Sale Date: March 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Seated nude, 1989

Nathan Oliveira

Seated nude, 1989

Sale Date: April 1, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1963

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1963

Sale Date: April 1, 2014

Auction Closed

Face

Nathan Oliveira

Face

Sale Date: February 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Twelve Intimate Fantasies (set of 12), 1964

Nathan Oliveira

Twelve Intimate Fantasies (set of 12), 1964

Sale Date: February 23, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled (Reclining Nude), 1966

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Reclining Nude), 1966

Sale Date: February 23, 2014

Auction Closed

Face, 1967

Nathan Oliveira

Face, 1967

Sale Date: December 17, 2013

Auction Closed

Archive Site, 1979

Nathan Oliveira

Archive Site, 1979

Sale Date: December 8, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (Two headed woman), 1968

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Two headed woman), 1968

Sale Date: December 8, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: October 21, 2013

Auction Closed

Model Drawn in Red Pencil, 1967

Nathan Oliveira

Model Drawn in Red Pencil, 1967

Sale Date: October 21, 2013

Auction Closed

Woman #1, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

Woman #1, 1961

Sale Date: October 21, 2013

Auction Closed

Emerson Site I, 1979

Nathan Oliveira

Emerson Site I, 1979

Sale Date: September 29, 2013

Auction Closed

Miramar IV, 1969

Nathan Oliveira

Miramar IV, 1969

Sale Date: July 28, 2013

Auction Closed