Born in Paris, Texas, and raised in Dallas, Oliver took up painting as a teenager. Her talent quickly caught the attention of her teacher, Frank Reaugh, who hired her as his assistant. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, she accompanied Reaugh and his students on sketching trips to Big Bend and other scenic regions of West Texas. A skilled violinist as well as a painter, Oliver eventually went on to a decades-long career as a member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

The Carter is home to three of Oliver’s plein-air sketches, which likely date to her West Texas sketching trips. These pictures exemplify Oliver’s sense of design as a landscape painter, as well as her skills as a colorist.