Oliver Gagliani, a resident of South San Francisco, died Nov. 20, 2002, at the age of 85. At the time of his death, Gagliani was gathering his images of Italy for publication in book form.

He was a respected instructor and former NEA grant recipient whose work had appeared in one-person exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, at the Santa Barbara Museum and the Oakland Museum in California, and in galleries around the world.

A native of California, Gagliani attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where he studied with Ansel Adams and Minor White. After receiving his MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts, he taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, the California College of Arts and Crafts, and Stanford University. He is also well known throughout the photography world for his numerous private workshops.