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 (572 results)
Woman 82V, 1982

Nathan Oliveira

Woman 82V, 1982

Sale Date: April 24, 2024

Auction Closed

Ryan 12, 1980

Nathan Oliveira

Ryan 12, 1980

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Seated Man, 1957

Nathan Oliveira

Seated Man, 1957

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Head with Red Eyes, 1986

Nathan Oliveira

Head with Red Eyes, 1986

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Tip of the Cape III, 1992

Nathan Oliveira

Tip of the Cape III, 1992

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Santa Fe 60), 1999

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled (Santa Fe 60), 1999

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Head #2, 1959

Nathan Oliveira

Head #2, 1959

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1963

Nathan Oliveira

Untitled, 1963

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

IMI-92, 1989

Nathan Oliveira

IMI-92, 1989

Sale Date: March 21, 2024

Auction Closed

Tamarind Suite 1

Nathan Oliveira

Tamarind Suite 1

Sale Date: March 14, 2024

Auction Closed

Copper Plate Nude 1; Dancer 2, 1998

Nathan Oliveira

Copper Plate Nude 1; Dancer 2, 1998

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Figure, 2001

Nathan Oliveira

Figure, 2001

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Douro Valley VII, 1997

Nathan Oliveira

Douro Valley VII, 1997

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Figural Maquette, 2007

Nathan Oliveira

Figural Maquette, 2007

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Imi Study #2, 1990

Nathan Oliveira

Imi Study #2, 1990

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Head of a Man II, 1960

Nathan Oliveira

Head of a Man II, 1960

Sale Date: January 25, 2024

Auction Closed

Stairs To The Stars, 2004

Nathan Oliveira

Stairs To The Stars, 2004

Sale Date: January 23, 2024

Auction Closed

Plate 7, from Copper Plate Nudes II, 2001

Nathan Oliveira

Plate 7, from Copper Plate Nudes II, 2001

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Yucatan III, 1984

Nathan Oliveira

Yucatan III, 1984

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Angel Rocker, 2005

Nathan Oliveira

Angel Rocker, 2005

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Tamarind Site I, 1982

Nathan Oliveira

Tamarind Site I, 1982

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Bird, 2007

Nathan Oliveira

Bird, 2007

Sale Date: January 10, 2024

Auction Closed

Standing Figure, 1973

Nathan Oliveira

Standing Figure, 1973

Sale Date: November 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Each: Untitled, 1961

Nathan Oliveira

Each: Untitled, 1961

Sale Date: November 21, 2023

Auction Closed