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Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

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.
(Biography provided by Serge Sorokko Gallery)
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Artist: Nathan Oliveira
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...
Category

1990s Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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...
Category

Late 20th Century Post-War Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mask
By Nathan Oliveira
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Nathan Oliveira. "Mask" is a Post-War painting, acrylic, earth, and oil on canvas by Bay Area Figurative artist Nathan Oliveira. The artwork is signed and dated in the ...
Category

Late 20th Century Post-War Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic

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 Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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...
Category

Mid-20th Century Contemporary Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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Previously Available Items
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Canvas, Oil

Revisited Standing Figure
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Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

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Nathan Oliveira Figurative Paintings

Nathan Oliveira figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Nathan Oliveira figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Nathan Oliveira in canvas, fabric, oil paint 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 figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 48 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Francis Plummer, Randall Berndt, and Grace Graupe-Pillard. Nathan Oliveira figurative paintings 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.

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