Robert (Bob) Oliver was born in the small town of Anaconda, MT., a company town for Anaconda Copper Mines in the early 1900’s. His family later moved to the San Francisco Bay area when in his early teens. Bob received his BA in Architecture from UC Berkley. After spending 3 years in the military, he returned to Berkley and obtained his MA in Architecture.
Bob spent 2 years in Europe working in architecture in both Rome and Holland. Upon his return to the states, he opened up a private practice in northern California which maintained for eight years. He was introduced to academia by chance and fell in love with the idea of teaching. He started at ASU in 1964 in the College of Architecture. While at ASU, Bob pursued watercolor painting teaching himself from books and attending workshops of some noted California architectural watercolor painters.
Bob was married to Joanne Oliver and had 4 children.
Details
- Oliver, Robert
- Scheatzle, David (Interviewer)
- Arizona State University Retirees Association (Producer)
- David Scheatzle, Editor; John McIntosh, Videographer; Linda Van Scoy, Chair Video History Project.
1. Introduction @ 00:00:15
2. Early life and schooling @ 00:01:20
3. College years at UC Berkley @ 00:04:40
4. Erich Mendelsohn @ 00:08:10
5. Military service @ 00:12:45
6. Work in Europe @ 00:20:20
7. Move back to the US @ 00:22:15
8. Career change @ 00:23:34
9. Move to ASU @ 00:24:35
10. Beginning of his watercolor painting @ 00:31:55
11. Noted watercolor painters he studied with @ 00:34:50
12. Bob’s books of sketches @ 00:39:10
13. Influence on his children @ 00:46:20
14. Sketch trips to Bisbee @ 00:50:30
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Oliver, Robert. Interview. 03 May 2010. ASURA Video History Project. © Arizona Board of Regents. https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.38947