This small collection of papers of Cuban born sculptor and painter Tomás Oliva measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1969-1996. Found among the papers are a chronology; life documents; exhibition catalogs, including one from the 1993 exhibition of three of the original
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Elissa L. Jerome in 2016.
Tomás Oliva papers, circa 1969-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Tomás Oliva papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Xiomara Almaguer-Levy in 1998.
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Tomás Oliva (1930-1996) was a Cuban born sculptor, painter, and printmaker who worked in Havana up to the mid or late 1970s before relocating to Miami, Florida.
Born in 1930 in Havana, Cuba, Oliva graduated from the San Alejandro Academy in Havana in 1952 with a dual degree in painting and sculpture. He also attended the Royal School of Ceramic La Moncloa in Spain and Ecole du Mosaic de Ravene et Ceramique de Faienze in Paris France. He also studied art and film animation with Ivan Zeiler and stage design with Ladislav Vihodil while living in Havana.
Oliva was one of the founding members of the Cuban artists' group
In the mid to late 1970s, Oliva relocated to Miami, Florida and regularly exhibited there and across the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Europe, and Japan.
The collection is arranged as 1 series.
Tomás Oliva's papers include an artist's chronology compiled by Juan Espinosa Almodóvar, certificates of marriage and naturalization, and a letter from Cyndee Levy-Angulo thanking Oliva for donating a pastel to raise funding for a neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Miami. Also found among the papers are photocopies of articles and reviews about Oliva, his artwork, and the Cuban artists' collective
There are ink, pen, and pencil sketches of sculpture and doodles and 2 sketchbooks; notes and poetry written in Spanish by Oliva; photographs of sculpture by Oliva and a snapshot of Oliva with the artist José Antonio Díaz Peláez.