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)
Sleeping woman

Nathan Oliveira

Sleeping woman

Sale Date: November 9, 2008

Auction Closed

Yellow portrait, 1965

Nathan Oliveira

Yellow portrait, 1965

Sale Date: May 2, 2004

Auction Closed

Standing female nude, 1965

Nathan Oliveira

Standing female nude, 1965

Sale Date: May 2, 2004

Auction Closed

Horse's head, 1962

Nathan Oliveira

Horse's head, 1962

Sale Date: November 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Standing nude-red foot (+Walking..., 1961

Nathan Oliveira

Standing nude-red foot (+Walking..., 1961

Sale Date: November 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Seated figure at starside, 1984

Nathan Oliveira

Seated figure at starside, 1984

Sale Date: October 24, 2008

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Girl (Blue face), 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Girl (Blue face), 1973

Sale Date: October 24, 2008

Auction Closed

Portrait

Nathan Oliveira

Portrait

Sale Date: September 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Figure (study)

Nathan Oliveira

Figure (study)

Sale Date: September 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Face, 1967

Nathan Oliveira

Face, 1967

Sale Date: August 24, 2008

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Red seated nude, 1984

Nathan Oliveira

Red seated nude, 1984

Sale Date: September 9, 2008

Auction Closed

Head, 1963

Nathan Oliveira

Head, 1963

Sale Date: May 20, 2008

Auction Closed

Seated nude with arms raised, 1962

Nathan Oliveira

Seated nude with arms raised, 1962

Sale Date: May 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Portrait, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

Portrait, 1961

Sale Date: May 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Abstract figure, 1957

Nathan Oliveira

Abstract figure, 1957

Sale Date: February 19, 2008

Auction Closed

14-s figure and red

Nathan Oliveira

14-s figure and red

Sale Date: December 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Red sun, 1969

Nathan Oliveira

Red sun, 1969

Sale Date: November 19, 2007

Auction Closed

Portrait of a man, 1968

Nathan Oliveira

Portrait of a man, 1968

Sale Date: November 19, 2007

Auction Closed

Dancing girl, 1972

Nathan Oliveira

Dancing girl, 1972

Sale Date: November 19, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1961

Sale Date: November 19, 2007

Auction Closed

Stairs to the stars, 2004

Nathan Oliveira

Stairs to the stars, 2004

Sale Date: November 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Ryan 31, 1980

Nathan Oliveira

Ryan 31, 1980

Sale Date: November 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Archive site, 1979

Nathan Oliveira

Archive site, 1979

Sale Date: November 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Face, 1967

Nathan Oliveira

Face, 1967

Sale Date: November 6, 2007

Auction Closed