In Nancy Webber's project, "Life Imitates Art," famous paintings are paired with contemporary re-creations. Her encyclopedic memory of art allows her to "recognize" modern-day people as models for historical paintings. Her subjects are rarely professional models, but they enthusiastically embrace the chance to go back in time, if only on film.

Of this work, Webber says: "When I entered another instructor's classroom to make an announcement I spotted Nancy across the room and knew immediately that she was a Leonardo woman. After class we arranged to meet in my home studio in San Pedro. Brought out by the tungsten lighting, all her features and curly hair made her a da Vinci angel. The resulting photo has been very popular in sales and published many times globally, including the Independent Magazine in October, 1995, with its feature article titled 'No Oil Painting' and the line: 'Life imitating art, art imitating life, and Nancy Webber imitating both.' The following July the photo appeared in LIFE magazine's 'Camera at Work.' "