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)
Horse's head, 1962

Nathan Oliveira

Horse's head, 1962

Sale Date: October 26, 1994

Auction Closed

RYAN II, 1980

Nathan Oliveira

RYAN II, 1980

Sale Date: October 26, 1994

Auction Closed

Reclining figure, 1972

Nathan Oliveira

Reclining figure, 1972

Sale Date: October 26, 1994

Auction Closed

Woman with a Hat, 1968

Nathan Oliveira

Woman with a Hat, 1968

Sale Date: October 26, 1994

Auction Closed

Intimate fantasies, 1964

Nathan Oliveira

Intimate fantasies, 1964

Sale Date: October 25, 1994

Auction Closed

Man and woman, 1966

Nathan Oliveira

Man and woman, 1966

Sale Date: October 25, 1994

Auction Closed

NUDE STRETCHING, 1979

Nathan Oliveira

NUDE STRETCHING, 1979

Sale Date: September 12, 1994

Auction Closed

NUDE STUDY, 1965

Nathan Oliveira

NUDE STUDY, 1965

Sale Date: April 21, 1994

Auction Closed

Summer blossom, 1959

Nathan Oliveira

Summer blossom, 1959

Sale Date: April 21, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: April 20, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: April 20, 1994

Auction Closed

WOMAN STATE III, 1971

Nathan Oliveira

WOMAN STATE III, 1971

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

TWELVE INTIMATE FANTASIES, 1964

Nathan Oliveira

TWELVE INTIMATE FANTASIES, 1964

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

WOMAN DANCING BEFORE MIRROR, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

WOMAN DANCING BEFORE MIRROR, 1961

Sale Date: October 21, 1993

Auction Closed

SITE ROOF, 1978

Nathan Oliveira

SITE ROOF, 1978

Sale Date: October 20, 1993

Auction Closed

HEAD OF A WOMAN

Nathan Oliveira

HEAD OF A WOMAN

Sale Date: October 20, 1993

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: October 20, 1993

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: October 20, 1993

Auction Closed

FLUTIST, 1957

Nathan Oliveira

FLUTIST, 1957

Sale Date: October 20, 1993

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (STANDING MAN), 1989

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED (STANDING MAN), 1989

Sale Date: May 19, 1993

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (STANDING FEMALE FIGURE), 1989

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED (STANDING FEMALE FIGURE), 1989

Sale Date: May 19, 1993

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (STANDING MAN SEEN FROM THE FRONT), 1989

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED (STANDING MAN SEEN FROM THE FRONT), 1989

Sale Date: May 19, 1993

Auction Closed

UNTITLED FIGURATIVE PAINTING 2, 1988

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED FIGURATIVE PAINTING 2, 1988

Sale Date: February 25, 1993

Auction Closed

Head, 1979

Nathan Oliveira

Head, 1979

Sale Date: February 22, 1993

Auction Closed