Daphne Mayo considered the human body as ‘a superlative piece of sculpture’, and Olympian illustrates her view. There are two variations of this work: an earlier version acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria’s Felton Bequest in 1949 and this later one – differing slightly in colour and in the placement of head and limbs. The truncated form, evoking classical statuary, was favoured by the French sculptors Aristide Maillol (1861−1944) and Charles Despiau (1874−1946), whom Mayo much admired.