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)
MIRAMAR II, 1969

Nathan Oliveira

MIRAMAR II, 1969

Sale Date: October 28, 1992

Auction Closed

SEATED NUDE, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

SEATED NUDE, 1973

Sale Date: October 28, 1992

Auction Closed

STANDING NUDE, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

STANDING NUDE, 1973

Sale Date: October 28, 1992

Auction Closed

TAUROMAQUIA 21, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

TAUROMAQUIA 21, 1973

Sale Date: October 28, 1992

Auction Closed

EMERSON SITE I, 1979

Nathan Oliveira

EMERSON SITE I, 1979

Sale Date: October 28, 1992

Auction Closed

STANDING WOMAN, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

STANDING WOMAN, 1961

Sale Date: October 25, 1992

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: October 6, 1992

Auction Closed

VARIATON ON A HEAD III, 1964

Nathan Oliveira

VARIATON ON A HEAD III, 1964

Sale Date: June 11, 1992

Auction Closed

SEATED MAN, 1972

Nathan Oliveira

SEATED MAN, 1972

Sale Date: May 14, 1992

Auction Closed

CAT II, 1959

Nathan Oliveira

CAT II, 1959

Sale Date: May 14, 1992

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1965, 1963

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED, 1965, 1963

Sale Date: May 14, 1992

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1965, 1965

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED, 1965, 1965

Sale Date: May 14, 1992

Auction Closed

STANDING WOMAN, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

STANDING WOMAN, 1961

Sale Date: May 14, 1992

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1965, 1965

Nathan Oliveira

UNTITLED, 1965, 1965

Sale Date: May 14, 1992

Auction Closed

SEATED MAN, 1960

Nathan Oliveira

SEATED MAN, 1960

Sale Date: February 26, 1992

Auction Closed

Head, 1959

Nathan Oliveira

Head, 1959

Sale Date: February 26, 1992

Auction Closed

SITES, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

SITES, 1973

Sale Date: February 25, 1992

Auction Closed

WOMAN'S FACE, 1966

Nathan Oliveira

WOMAN'S FACE, 1966

Sale Date: February 25, 1992

Auction Closed

MAN AND WOMAN, 1966

Nathan Oliveira

MAN AND WOMAN, 1966

Sale Date: February 25, 1992

Auction Closed

TO EDGAR ALLEN POE, 1971

Nathan Oliveira

TO EDGAR ALLEN POE, 1971

Sale Date: February 25, 1992

Auction Closed

SEATED FIGURE

Nathan Oliveira

SEATED FIGURE

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

CAT II, 1959

Nathan Oliveira

CAT II, 1959

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

STANDING MAN, 1958

Nathan Oliveira

STANDING MAN, 1958

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

NUDE, 1976

Nathan Oliveira

NUDE, 1976

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed