Nassos Daphnis was born in the Greek village of Krokeai near Sparta. He would begin drawing and carving early in his childhood; leading to many beatings by the village schoolmaster. In 1930 he arrived in New York City where he worked in his uncle’s flower shop. Less than supportive, his uncle exclaimed, "Whoever heard of an artist from Krokeai?". Subsequently, he would draw during odd hours until a chance meeting with another florist's assistant, Michael Lekakis, changed his life. Lekakis offered the use of his studio and a model a few days each week. Eventually, Daphnis would set up his own studio where much of his early paintings would be based on memories of Greece. While considered naïve in style, they were characterized by a strong feeling for color and form.
Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio Albany Mall, Albany, New York
Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ann Arbor Art Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Baltimore Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
Basil Goulandris Museum, Andros, Greece
Boca Raton Museum or Art, Boca Raton, Florida
Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia
Guggenhiem Museum, New York City
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC
Ian Vores Museum, Peonia, Athens, Greece
Munson-Willliams-Proctor Museum, Utica, New York
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
Pittsburgh Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Providence Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania
Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah
Whitney Museum of Art, New York City