photo taken by Cary Whittier

Dominating the foreground of this large canvas are the intertwined limbs of a nude man and woman, draped and outstretched as if dancing. The title identifies them as Apollo, the Greek god of the son, and Daphne, a river nymph that he attempted to seduce. According to myth, she evaded his unwanted attentions by transforming into a laurel tree, and if we look closely, we can see hints of greenery emerging from the woman’s fingertips. A black and white dog is casually moving out of the picture’s frame, and a bather approaches the river’s edge to the left. If not for the title and implied narrative, we might take this for an impromptu al fresco modern dance performance!