Oliveira arrived in San Francisco after World War II and graduated from San Francisco's George Washington High School. He studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, where he earned a BFA in 1951 and an MFA in 1952. While attending CCAC he took an eight-week summer course in painting at Mills College taught by the German Expressionist Max Beckmann. After graduation Oliveira taught art at several colleges, including the California College of the Arts, The California School of Fine Arts (now The San Francisco Art Institute), the University of Chicago, UCLA and Stanford University.

Oliveira established an early reputation for his depictions of isolated figures painted in an improvisational style. Over time his subjects and style varied tremendously as he created images of animals, birds of prey, human heads, masks, nudes and still lifes of fetish objects. Oliveira also developed a series of "sites" that told the story of an invented culture with shamanic characteristics. Most of the artist's paintings are either vividly colored but somber human figures or abstract expressionist works that vaguely resemble seascapes. Sea from 1959, in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art, is an Example of these almost abstract seascapes.

During the 1990s Oliveira worked on a series of paintings of catenary curves based on observation of the FLIGHT of birds, including kestrels that had hovered outside the windows of his studio in the Stanford Hills. This series was dubbed the "Windhover" series by Oliveira's friend, poet Desmond Egan, who detected parallels between the paintings and the 1877 Gerard Manley Hopkins poem "The Windhover."

In 1999. Nathan Oliveira was awarded the Distinguished Degree of "Commander" in "The Order of the Infante D. Henrique," awarded by the President of Portugal and the Portuguese government, for his artistic and cultural achievements.

A 1960 oil painting by Nathan Oliveira, "Seated Figure with Pink Background," sold for $317,500 (including buyer's premium) at Sotheby's New York on November 12, 2002.

During his Stanford years Oliveira held summer positions as a visiting Artist in Colorado and Hawaii. He also served as a member of the Honorary Board of Humane Society Silicon Valley in Milpitas, California from 2007 until his death in 2010.

During his lifetime Oliveira made notable works in a huge range of media including oil paintings, acrylic paintings on paper, drawings in ink, charcoal and pencil, lithographs, etchings, posters, and sculptures in clay, wax and bronze. Nathan Oliveira was especially noted for his work in the monotype medium, in which single printed impressions are made from a painting executed on a metal plate. He was also an accomplished Sculptor. A survey of Oliveira's bronzes was held at the Palo Alto Art Center in 2008. His work is in the di Rosa Collection.

Nathan Oliveira died at his home in Stanford, California on November 13, 2010. A memorial Service for him was held at Stanford Memorial Church on January 12, 2011.

In June 2013 Stanford University started construction of the "Windhover Contemplative Center," a 4,000-square-foot one-story building to house four paintings from Oliveira's Windhover series. The center, intended to provide Stanford faculty, staff and students with a place to reflect and meditate, was envisioned by Oliveira and his wife Ramona prior to their deaths.

Designed by Aidlin Darling Design Architects, the Windhover opened on October 9, 2014, and is located in front of Roble Hall. Constructed with rammed earth and wooden walls, the center features three interior rooms to house the Oliveira paintings. Outside landscaping includes a reflection pool and garden areas for meditation. The building is enclosed in glass, allowing for viewing of the Oliveira paintings even from outside. The center is open to the Stanford community daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. A Stanford I.D. card is required to enter. Docents from the Cantor Arts Center lead tours for the public on Saturdays. Visitors are asked to refrain from using cell phones, tablets, laptops and other electronic devices while inside the center.