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
7
6
4
2
2
1
1
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

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

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

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
Watch me! -21st Century Oil Painting of a Nude Boy watching you in his Mirror
Watch me! -21st Century Oil Painting of a Nude Boy watching you in his Mirror

Watch me! -21st Century Oil Painting of a Nude Boy watching you in his Mirror

By David van der Linden

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

This painting is made by Dutch artist/painter David van der Linden. Painted with oilpaint on canvas. David van der Linden studied at the Academ...

Category

2010s 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

$1,619Sale 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

Children Snow Sledding in Central Park  - New Yorker Cover Study
Children Snow Sledding in Central Park  - New Yorker Cover Study

Children Snow Sledding in Central Park - New Yorker Cover Study

Located in Miami, FL

Hungarian/American artist/illustrator depicts a charming scene of sledding in the snow in Central Park. The work is abstract in its design as it's functional in its narrative - Unpublished New Yorker...

Category

1940s Modern Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil

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

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

Bräuner, Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated 53

$1,749Sale Price|20% Off

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

Untitled (Surrealist Composiition)
Untitled (Surrealist Composiition)

Untitled (Surrealist Composiition)

By Julio de Diego

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Untitled (Surrealist Composiition) Lithograph with hand coloring, 1945 Signed and dated lower right (see photo) Numbered 10/12 lower left (see photo) fragment from 6X litho In 1945, ...

Category

1940s Surrealist Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

Yellow mood- 21st Century Contemporary portrait Painting
Yellow mood- 21st Century Contemporary portrait Painting

Yellow mood- 21st Century Contemporary portrait Painting

By Tania Rivilis

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

Tania Rivilis Yellow mood 40 x 40 cm framed (included in price) 43,5 x 43,5 cm Oilpaint on canvas Tania Rivilis (b. 1986) 2022 winner of the 'William Locke Price' ( £ 30.000 ) fr...

Category

2010s Contemporary Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Unknown Artist, Oil on Canvas, Abstract Composition, Dated 1980
Unknown Artist, Oil on Canvas, Abstract Composition, Dated 1980

Unknown Artist, Oil on Canvas, Abstract Composition, Dated 1980

Located in København, Copenhagen

Unknown artist. Oil on canvas. Abstract composition. Dated 1980. Measures: 60 x 60 cm. In excellent condition. Signed and dated.

Category

1980s Unknown Modern Vintage Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Canvas

"Bolonia IV" – Oil Painting, Female Nude Beach Scene
"Bolonia IV" – Oil Painting, Female Nude Beach Scene

"Bolonia IV" – Oil Painting, Female Nude Beach Scene

By Conrado López

Located in Denver, CO

"Bolonia IV" by Conrado López is a striking original 2024 painting depicting a female nude figure executed in acrylic, gold leaf, and oil on canvas. Measuring 39.37 x 25.59 x 1.18 in...

Category

2010s Realist Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

In My Heart, Contemporary Oil on Canvas Landscape Painting, Framed, 21st Century
In My Heart, Contemporary Oil on Canvas Landscape Painting, Framed, 21st Century

In My Heart, Contemporary Oil on Canvas Landscape Painting, Framed, 21st Century

By Sonja Brussen

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

Sonja Brussen – In My Heart Oil on canvas 40 x 100 cm Framed in a white wooden frame Overall dimensions with frame: 42 x 102 cm Frame included in the price In My Heart is an orig...

Category

2010s Contemporary Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Untitled (Martha Jackson Gallery Poster)
Untitled (Martha Jackson Gallery Poster)

Untitled (Martha Jackson Gallery Poster)

By Walasse Ting

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Untitled (Martha Jackson Gallery Poster) Lithograph, 1960 Signed and dated in red crayon by the artist Edition 90 (63/90) 1st state before letters for the poster created for the Martha Jackson Gallery, Ting Exhibition, April 23-May 31, 1960 Printed on wove paper with a ”JAPAN' watermark Edition: 90 Provenance: Martha Jackson Gallery, New York Anderson Gallery David K. Anderson Collection (label) Walasse Ting (Chinese: 丁雄泉, 13 October 1929 – May 17, 2010)[1] was a Chinese-American visual artist and poet. His colorful paintings have attracted critical admiration and a popular following. Common subjects include nude women and cats, birds and other animals. He was born on 13 October 1929 in Shanghai, left China in 1946 and lived for a while in Hong Kong, then settled in Paris in 1952.[2] There, he associated with artists such as Karel Appel, Asger Jorn, and Pierre Alechinsky, members of the avant-garde group CoBrA. Ting started his career as an artist in Paris in the 1950s, where he became friends with artists such as Sam Francis and Pierre Alechinsky. His early works were influenced by the CoBrA group, a European art movement known for its use of expressive, childlike imagery. In the 1960s, Ting moved to New York City and became associated with the Pop Art movement. Ting is perhaps best known for his series of paintings featuring women, which he called "Cat Women...

Category

1960s Abstract Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

Derriere Le Miroir-No. 190-Page 14-15
Derriere Le Miroir-No. 190-Page 14-15

Derriere Le Miroir-No. 190-Page 14-15

By Alexander Calder

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Derriere Le Miroir-No. 190-Page 14-15 Color lithograph, 1971 Unsigned (as issued) From: Derriere Le Miroir, No. 190, 1971 Publisher: Aime Maeght, Paris Printer: L’Imprimerie Arts, Pa...

Category

1970s Abstract Nathan Oliveira Art

Materials

Lithograph

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

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

Skating Figure

Skating 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