Reynolds’ Portrait of Mai, depicting first Polynesian to visit Britain, to be displayed in UK and US museums
The National Portrait Gallery in London and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles have announced plans to jointly acquire Sir Joshua Reynolds’ masterpiece, Portrait of Mai (Omai).
The agreement will see the two institutions share ownership of the painting and allow the public free access to it for exhibition, research and conservation care. The unique partnership marks a new model of international collaboration that will provide maximum public access to the work. The painting holds a pivotal place in global art history and is widely regarded as the finest portrait by one of Britain’s greatest artists. It depicts the first Polynesian to visit Britain, known as “Omai” in England. Mai, a native of Raiatea, spent time in London during the 1770s and became something of a celebrity among the intellectual elite. Nearly eight feet high, Reynolds’ spectacular image of Mai portrays complex artistic and historical issues that will form the basis for a joint research initiative on 18th-century British portraiture involving exhibitions, conferences, and technical investigations.
Both institutions will enter a joint ownership agreement, and the painting will be exhibited in both locations, including being displayed in the Getty Museum when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympic Games. If the National Portrait Gallery is successful in the final phase of its fundraising campaign, the painting will first be exhibited at the Gallery, which will reopen, following its recent transformation, in June 2023. The partnership has the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and the Art Fund who have all welcomed this innovative approach.
The partnership follows previous joint initiatives of the NPG and Getty, including the publication of the National Portrait Gallery’s Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue and a current project on the Gallery’s Lucian Freud Archive, both funded by the Getty Foundation. Each partner will contribute half of the £50m funds needed to acquire the painting. The NPG has raised the majority of the funding, including a significant £10m pledge by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, an Art Fund grant of £2.5m, and many donations from generous trusts, foundations, and individuals. This leaves just under £1m remaining, and the National Portrait Gallery is continuing to fundraise.
Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, described the acquisition as an “innovative and exciting strategic partnership with Getty.” He added, “This is a painting that should belong to all of us and we know it will mean a great deal to our combined audiences, locally, nationally, and globally.”
Timothy Potts, Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, stated that the partnership “strives to identify new models for thinking about and sharing cultural heritage” and said the acquisition would “inspire other innovative models of collecting, sharing, and protecting artistic heritage across nations, cultures, and peoples.”
