Born in Jersey in the Channel Islands in 1927, he started painting during a prolonged illness and went on to study first at Exeter for his diploma in Painting and subsequently post-graduate studies in Liverpool.  While still a student he exhibited work at the Redfern Gallery, London, and with the Royal Society of British Artists.  Since those early days Peter Oliver has maintained strong links with the Redfern Gallery and has had a number of one-man shows with them.  He has exhibited regularly in London and has also exhibited at the City Art Gallery in Salford.
His work is in many collections, including the Tate Gallery, the Courtauld Institute, Manchester City Art Gallery and in the U.S.A. with the Fielding Collection New York, the Charles Berenson Collection etc.