Retired art professor Nathan Oliveira passed away Nov. 13 the age of 81 from complications of pulmonary fibrosis and diabetes.

According to an obituary in the Stanford Report, Oliveira was born in Oakland in 1928, the only child of a poor Portuguese immigrant couple.

Oliveira earned his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Mills College in 1951 and a master’s in fine arts the following year from the California College of the Arts and Crafts in Oakland. After a stint working at the Richmond Art Center and San Francisco’s Art Institute, he joined the Stanford faculty in 1964, teaching painting and printmaking until his retirement in 1995.

Over the years, Oliveira has won numerous honors and awards, including awards from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and an election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In an interview with Stanford Magazine in 2002, Oliveira said that of all of these honors, he was most proud of receiving the degree of Commander in the Order of Infante D. Henrique, given to him by the president of Portugal to honor those who have contributed to Portuguese culture.

As an artist, Oliveira was most well known for his contributions to the Bay Area Figurative Movement, though he has also done extensive work in other areas, such as monotype printing. His work is in the collections of museums all over the world.

Hilarie Faberman, curator of modern and contemporary art at Cantor Arts Center, has worked closely over the years with Oliveira to create several exhibitions featuring his work.

“He’s really among the top two or three most brilliant practitioners of the monotype,” Faberman said in the 2002 Stanford Magazine article. “If anyone can conjure up secret worlds out of paper and ink, it’s Nate.”

Associate director of Cantor Arts Center Mona Duggan also sang Oliveira’s praises as a teacher. Many students were drawn to Stanford because of Oliveira, Duggan said.

“He was just as remarkable as a professor as he was an artist,” Duggan told the Stanford Report.

The museum’s history with Oliveira goes far back; it has organized several exhibitions of his work, among them “To Edgar Allan Poe, a suite of lithographs,” in 1971; “Nathan Oliveira Recent Work,” 1987; and “Nathan Oliveira: The Windhover” in 1995, according to Duggan.

The museum also holds 51 of Oliveira’s works in its collection, according to curator for education Patience Young. At least one of Oliveira’s works is always in display at the museum, and those who frequent the contemporary gallery will recognize his work entitled “Seated Man With Blue Face and Red Hand.”

“His passing is a loss for us all,” Young said. “He was an important artist, a memorable teacher, a great inspiration to Stanford students and the community, a kind, caring, gentle and generous person.”

A memorial is being planned for Jan. 12, 2011 with details to be announced later.

— Ivy Nguyen