Skip to main content

Nathan Oliveira Art

American, 1928-2010
Born 1928, Oakland, California; Died 2010, Stanford, California. Nathan Oliveira was a leading member of the second generation of the Bay Area figurative painters. He is best known for his brilliantly colored figurative and landscape paintings as well as intricate bronze sculptures with colorful patinas. Oliveira achieved national prominence fusing Abstract Expressionism and figuration in psychologically charged canvases that explored human isolation and alienation. In 1959, he was the youngest painter included in the important exhibition New Images of Man at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which also featured works by Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti, Richard Diebenkorn, and Jackson Pollack. Overnight, Oliveira found wide acclaim for his nervous human images, built up with thick layers of scuffed and scratched paint. Nathan Oliveira employed a bravura, brushy style of paint application. His abstracted figures and landscapes, however, reflected an affinity with the darker vision of European artists like Oskar Kokoschka and Edvard Munch or more nearly contemporary artists like Alberto Giacometti and Francis Bacon, who shared his sense of human conflict and existential angst. Particularly influential was the German painter Max Beckmann, with whom he studied briefly. Nathan Oliveira had solo exhibitions in major museums all over the world. His paintings are held in the collections of many distinguished institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Tate Modern, London, among others.
to
8
7
4
3
2
1
1
Nude Stepping from the Carpet
Nude Stepping from the Carpet

Nude Stepping from the Carpet

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Palm Desert, CA

A painting by Nathan Oliveira. "Nude Stepping from the Carpet" is a contemporary painting, oil on canvas in a palette of reds, greens, and beiges by Bay Area figurative artist Nathan Oliveira. The artwork is signed in the lower right, "N Oliveira 62". During the early years, Oliveira’s lone figures often suggest an existential angst similar to that of Giacometti, but there is also a weightlessness and a transcendent aura that envelopes these figures; they appear as elemental, universal and eternal projections of selfless consciousness better understood within the bodiless realm of metaphysics. These qualities would remain in his work throughout his long career, yet he would find other themes to explore — the natural world where the essential nature of birds and animals exist in equal profundity with their human counterparts, the transient world of evanescent perception when memory must reconstruct momentary experience, and later, the ‘site’ paintings and monoprints that suggest the abandoned remnants of a long-lost civilization or tribe uncovered at an archeological dig. Nathan Oliveira has left us with a legacy of art that will surely remain untarnished by time or changing trends. His work exists within a realm rarely achieved by artists striving in a similar mode of expression. Unclouded by ego or wayward sentiment, it is also in the warmth and humble nature...

Category

Mid-20th Century Contemporary Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled
Untitled

Untitled

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Palm Desert, CA

A painting by Nathan Oliveira. "Untitled" is a Bay Area Figurative Painting, oil on canvas in a brown and tan palette by American artist Nathan Oliveira. The artwork is signed in the lower right, "Oliveira 64”. A Californian whose work is of preeminent importance during the post war period, Oliveira is most often associated with Park, Diebenkorn and the other artists with whom he sketched early in his career. Yet it was not an oversight when Oakland Museum director Paul Mills chose not to include Oliveira in the 1957 exhibition “Contemporary Bay Area Figurative Painting.” All came to figuration by initiating a sophisticated dialogue with abstraction, yet it is Oliveira, the often characterized ambivalent loner among Bay Area artists whose work is most often compared to Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon, or Willem de Kooning with whom he shared walls and space at The Images of Man exhibition held in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in 1959. During the early years, Oliveira’s lone figures often suggested an existential angst similar to that of Giacometti, but there was also a weightlessness and a transcendent aura that envelopes these figures; they appear as elemental, universal and eternal projections of selfless consciousness better understood within the bodiless realm of metaphysics. These qualities would remain in his work throughout his long career, yet he would find other themes to explore — the natural world where the essential nature of birds and animals exist in equal profundity with their human counterparts, the transient world of evanescent perception when memory must reconstruct momentary experience, and later, the ‘site’ paintings and monoprints that suggest the abandoned remnants of a long-lost civilization or tribe uncovered at an archeological dig. Through and through, flesh to bones, and bones to dust Nathan Oliveira has left us with a legacy of art that will surely remain untarnished by time or changing trends. His work exists within a realm rarely achieved by artists striving in a similar mode of expression. Unclouded by ego or wayward sentiment, it is also in the warmth and humble nature...

Category

Late 20th Century Post-War Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figure with Blue Eyes
Figure with Blue Eyes

Figure with Blue Eyes

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Palm Desert, CA

A painting by Nathan Oliveira. "Figure with Blue Eyes" is a figurative painting, oil on canvas in a palette of browns and creams with a pop of blue by Bay Area Figurative artist Nath...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Miramar I
Miramar I

Miramar I

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Artwork title: Miramar IArtist name: Nathan Oliveira Date created: 1969 Classification: print Medium: lithograph Edition: 75 Dimensions: 29 3/8 × 22 1/8 in. (74.6 × 56.2 cm) Signed...

Category

1960s Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

Nathan Oliveira abstract oil painting  on canvas signed , dated
Nathan Oliveira abstract oil painting  on canvas signed , dated

Nathan Oliveira abstract oil painting on canvas signed , dated

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a master abstract oil painting by the well known artist Nathan Oliveira . This work was originally purchased by the original owner Joyce Freedman in Bel Air , California from...

Category

1950s American Modern Vintage Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Paint

Stelae No. 5
Stelae No. 5

Stelae No. 5

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Palm Desert, CA

"Stelae No. 5" is a painting by Bay Area Figurative artist Nathan Oliveira. The painting is signed and dated lower right, "Oliveira 98". The framed piece measures 67 1/2 x 55 3/4 x 2 in. A Californian whose work is of preeminent importance during the post war period, Oliveira is most often associated with Park, Diebenkorn and the other artists with whom he sketched early in his career. Yet it was not an oversight when Oakland Museum director Paul Mills chose not to include Oliveira in the 1957 exhibition “Contemporary Bay Area Figurative Painting.” All came to figuration by initiating a sophisticated dialogue with abstraction, yet it is Oliveira, the often characterized ambivalent loner among Bay Area artists whose work is most often compared to Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon, or Willem de Kooning with whom he shared walls and space at The Images of Man exhibition held in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in 1959. During the early years, Oliveira’s lone figures often suggested an existential angst similar to that of Giacometti, but there was also a weightlessness and a transcendent aura that envelopes these figures; they appear as elemental, universal and eternal projections of selfless consciousness better understood within the bodiless realm of metaphysics. These qualities would remain in his work throughout his long career, yet he would find other themes to explore — the natural world where the essential nature of birds and animals exist in equal profundity with their human counterparts, the transient world of evanescent perception when memory must reconstruct momentary experience, and later, the ‘site’ paintings and monoprints that suggest the abandoned remnants of a long-lost civilization or tribe uncovered at an archeological dig. Through and through, flesh to bones, and bones to dust Nathan Oliveira has left us with a legacy of art that will surely remain untarnished by time or changing trends. His work exists within a realm rarely achieved by artists striving in a similar mode of expression. Unclouded by ego or wayward sentiment, it is also in the warmth and humble nature...

Category

1990s Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Head

Nathan OliveiraHead, 1959

Price Upon Request

Head

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Francisco, CA

Watercolor, gouache, ink wash, crayon, and pencil on paper

Category

1950s Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Crayon, Ink, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil

Related Items
Contemporary Verso Signed Abstract Oil on Canvas
Contemporary Verso Signed Abstract Oil on Canvas

Contemporary Verso Signed Abstract Oil on Canvas

Located in Sheffield, MA

Oil painting is composed of vibrant orange tones mingled with neutral brown and grey tones. Verso is titled and signed illegibly. Canvas measures approximate 20 inches squared in height and width. Signed original artwork, abstract Modernist art...

Category

20th Century American Modern Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas

45 x 61 Abstract Original Mixed Media Oil Painting on Canvas by Nathan Caplan
45 x 61 Abstract Original Mixed Media Oil Painting on Canvas by Nathan Caplan

45 x 61 Abstract Original Mixed Media Oil Painting on Canvas by Nathan Caplan

Located in Troy, MI

Large abstract expressionist painting by Michigan artist Nathan Caplan Untitled 1981 - 1996 A dynamic composition of bold reds with notes of blue and yellow Highly dimensional with ...

Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Wood, Paint

1958 Willy Mucha Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Signed
1958 Willy Mucha Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Signed

1958 Willy Mucha Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Signed

$450Sale Price|47% Off

H 15 in W 10.63 in D 1.38 in

1958 Willy Mucha Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Signed

By Willy Mucha

Located in Miami, FL

1958 Willy Mucha Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Signed Offered for sale is a 1958 Mid-century Modern abstract oil painting on linen canvas by Willy Mu...

Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Linen, Giltwood

Sam Francis Black Stone lithograph (Sam Francis Prints)
Sam Francis Black Stone lithograph (Sam Francis Prints)

Sam Francis Black Stone lithograph (Sam Francis Prints)

By Sam Francis

Located in NEW YORK, NY

Vintage 1960s Sam Francis Lithograph: Sam Francis, "Blackstone," 1964. Lithograph in colors. 16 x 23 inches (Dimensions including frame: 27.5 x 21.5 inches). Framed in glass. Cente...

Category

1960s Pop Art Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

lithograph

Lucio Fontanalithograph, 1958

$500

H 12.49 in W 8.47 in

lithograph

By Lucio Fontana

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1958 and published in Milan by Groupe Espace for Documenti d'Arte d'Oggi. Sheet size: 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches (317 x 215 mm). There is printed t...

Category

1950s Futurist Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

Bräuner, Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 53
Bräuner, Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 53

Bräuner, Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 53

$2,283

H 32.29 in W 30.32 in D 0.79 in

Bräuner, Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 53

Located in Saint-Ouen, FR

Bräuner, Oil on canvas signed and dated 53.

Category

1950s European Art Deco Vintage Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Paint

The Boat in Martigues, France
The Boat in Martigues, France

The Boat in Martigues, France

By Marie-Anne Nivoulies de Pierrefort

Located in London, GB

'The Boat in Martigues', oil on canvas, by Marie de Nivouliès de Pierrefort (circa 1910). Martigues is a small port town just northwest of Marseille in the South of France. Its nickname is the Provençal Venice. Further eastward down the coast is the town of Toulon where the artist was born in 1879. Nivouliès depicts a charming sailboat tied to the small pier yet with an unfurled sail. It looks to be a wondrous day along the Mediterranean, the kind we can always dream about. The painting is over one hundred years old and is in fair condition, yet recently brought back to life by an art restoration professional. Elegantly framed, it is stabilised now for decades into the future. Signed by the artist on the lower right corner. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying the listing. Upon request, a video may be provided of the artwork. About the Artist: Although she was a direct descendant of the counts of de Pierrefort, Marie de Nivouliès de Pierrefort's (1879-1968) family was very poor. In spite of the poverty, Pierrefort attended a Catholic school run by nuns, obtaining a scholarship from the School of Fine Arts of Paris. While still a student, she attended workshops of great Impressionist masters such as Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) and Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947). In 1910 she won a travel award from the school and traveled to Tunisia where she painted several Mediterranean landscapes. In 1938 the painter moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she painted the beautiful landscapes seen from her window. In Rio, Pierrefort had two individual exhibitions, both at the National Museum of Fine Arts, in the years 1946 and 1956. Although widowed in 1944, Pierrefort decided not to return to France until 1950. She remained there until 1959 when she definitively returned to Brazil. Her atelier in the neighbourhood of Glória was frequented by many emerging artists who learned the techniques of impressionism from her. Afterwards, Pierrefort painted for almost a decade in Brazil until she passed away in 1968 in Rio. After her death, many canvases were found in her studio but had been damaged or destroyed by humidity and by the intervention of her many cats. The painter Sergio Telles...

Category

1910s Impressionist Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cano, "composition" Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 1969
Cano, "composition" Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 1969

Cano, "composition" Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 1969

By Cano

Located in Saint-Ouen, FR

Cano, "composition" oil on canvas signed and dated 1969.

Category

1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Paint

Ohne Titel / Untitled
Ohne Titel / Untitled

Ohne Titel / Untitled

Located in Wien, 9

This work is a typical work of Roberto Guglielmino, known for his surrealistic, figurative paitings. The artist is represented by the artgallery Ursula Stross (Austria). The artwork...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Midcentury Abstract Vreugdenhil Oil on Canvas, Dutch 1950s, Signed & Dated
Midcentury Abstract Vreugdenhil Oil on Canvas, Dutch 1950s, Signed & Dated

Midcentury Abstract Vreugdenhil Oil on Canvas, Dutch 1950s, Signed & Dated

$1,690Sale Price|57% Off

H 34.65 in W 46.46 in D 0.79 in

Midcentury Abstract Vreugdenhil Oil on Canvas, Dutch 1950s, Signed & Dated

By Johannes Vreugdenhil 1

Located in AMSTERDAM, NL

Large and powerful piece by Dutch artist Joop Vreugdenhil. A piece from his early career. Although abstract in composition, upon a closer look one can see hints or architecture Abou...

Category

1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Paint

Abstract Modern Oil on Canvas Painting, Signed
Abstract Modern Oil on Canvas Painting, Signed

Abstract Modern Oil on Canvas Painting, Signed

$2,950

H 59.5 in W 38.25 in D 3.5 in

Abstract Modern Oil on Canvas Painting, Signed

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Beautiful abstract painting, beautiful blend of colors and great technique. The piece is large, and is perfect for modern spaces. The piece is signed. Measurements: 59.50 inc...

Category

Early 2000s American Organic Modern Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas

'Strawberries' Oil on canvas , signed and dated 1894
'Strawberries' Oil on canvas , signed and dated 1894

'Strawberries' Oil on canvas , signed and dated 1894

$1,184

H 9.45 in W 12.6 in D 0.79 in

'Strawberries' Oil on canvas , signed and dated 1894

Located in Oxford, GB

Exquisite still life of Strawberries , oil on canvas . Signed and dated 1894 ('94) but unable to discern signature. Purchased in Avignon , France . Beautifully rendered with lush col...

Category

1890s French Aesthetic Movement Antique Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Paint

Previously Available Items
Nathan Oliveira 'Seated Woman with Dog' 1961 Bay Area Figurative Painting
Nathan Oliveira 'Seated Woman with Dog' 1961 Bay Area Figurative Painting

Nathan Oliveira 'Seated Woman with Dog' 1961 Bay Area Figurative Painting

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Los Angeles, CA

From a Beverly Hills estate. 1928 - 2010 Mr. Oliveira was an American artist. His works are in museums and collections throughout the USA and abroad. This is one of his early classic Bay Area...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Paint

Nathan Oliveira 'Nude' Limited Edition Signed Lithograph Print
Nathan Oliveira 'Nude' Limited Edition Signed Lithograph Print

Nathan Oliveira 'Nude' Limited Edition Signed Lithograph Print

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Rafael, CA

Nathan Oliveira (American, 1928-2010) Nude, 2004 Lithograph in colors on wove paper Edition 9/10 Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil along lower edge (Unframed) Sheet: 22-1/2 x 18-...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

Copper Plate Nude II (2) 2001. Aquatint - signed, dated front - Nathan Oliveira
Copper Plate Nude II (2) 2001. Aquatint - signed, dated front - Nathan Oliveira

Copper Plate Nude II (2) 2001. Aquatint - signed, dated front - Nathan Oliveira

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in Burlingame, CA

Vivid and beautiful female figurative nude with lifted arms by Nathan Oliveira - color sugar lift and spit bite aquatints, aquatint and texture from the back of a discarded plate 23 ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Aquatint

Skating Figure

Skating Figure

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Francisco, CA

Category

Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Standing Figure

Standing Figure

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Francisco, CA

Category

Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Untitled Figure

Untitled Figure

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Francisco, CA

Category

Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Figure

Nathan OliveiraFigure, 2010

Sold

H 66 in W 50 in

Figure

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Francisco, CA

Category

Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Head #1

Head #1

By Nathan Oliveira

Located in San Francisco, CA

Category

Nathan Oliveira Art

Nathan Oliveira art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Nathan Oliveira art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Nathan Oliveira in paint, canvas, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the post-war style. Not every interior allows for large Nathan Oliveira art, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Arne Hiersoux, Paul Wonner, and William Theophilus Brown. Nathan Oliveira art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $55,000 and tops out at $135,000, while the average work can sell for $115,000.

Artists Similar to Nathan Oliveira