Marvin Oliver (1946-2019) was a sculptor and printmaker who influenced the development and recognition of American Indian contemporary fine art. Born in Shelton, Washington, Oliver attended graduate school at the University of Washington (UW) and started teaching at the school in 1974. Oliver's work was steeped in his Quinault and Isleta-Pueblo heritage, but spanned styles and media--from blown-glass Northwest Coast-style baskets, to etched photographs, and towering sculptures. Over 40 years, Oliver’s work has appeared at the UW, across the state of Washington, and the United States, Canada, Japan, and Italy. At the time of his death, Oliver was a professor emeritus at UW, and Adjunct Curator of Contemporary Native American Art at UW's Burke Museum.

In this photo, Marvin Oliver works on a Northwest Coast-style mask while sitting on a sawhorse at the construction site for the new Daybreak Star Indian Culture Center in Seattle's Discovery Park.

Caption information source: "Renowned Native American artist Marvin Oliver, 'master' of all mediums, has died at 73 in Seattle," The Seattle Times, July 17, 2019.
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.