Exhibition

National Portrait Gallery’s £50m ‘Portrait of Mai’ to tour UK

Image: Portrait of Mai on display (centre) at the National Portrait Gallery © David Parry

The recently acquired portrait begins a UK tour and accompanying engagement programme in partnership with museums and galleries.

A £50m portrait, jointly acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2023, is to go on tour across UK galleries and museums.

Three years ago the Gallery partnered with LA’s Getty Museum to jointly acquire the oil painting, which had previously been in private ownership. It went on display at the National Portrait when the building reopened in June 2023.

National Portrait Gallery and Getty to jointly acquire £50m ‘Portrait of Omai’

‘Portrait of Mai’ by Joshua Reynolds is a full body portrait of a Polynesian man – Mai, previously ‘Omai’ – dressed in white and beige robes.

In its first national tour and engagement programme, under the title ‘Journeys with Mai’, it will travel to Bradford Council’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture; The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge; and The Box in Plymouth.

It is set to depart the Gallery in April as part of what the Galley called a ‘Departures Summit’.

It will see young people from London, Bradford, Cambridge and Plymouth come together to explore themes including travel, colonialism, encounter, and representation. Subsequent national Summits will take place throughout the project in Bradford, Cambridge and Plymouth.

Created in collaboration with Bradford District Museums and Galleries, The Fitzwilliam Museum and The Box, an accompanying national engagement programme will “create a platform for reflection and creativity, exploring issues such as cultural exchange and identity, as well as colonial legacies,” the Gallery said.

“Aiming to build a legacy for this 18th-century masterpiece, the project invites diverse voices to engage with the portrait’s complex themes, ensuring the 18th-century painting speaks meaningfully to contemporary audiences.”

The joint ‘Journeys with Mai’ programme has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.

The National Portrait Gallery’s Director Victoria Siddall said: “Portrait of Mai was saved for the nation by a historic fundraising campaign and we are so grateful to all those who supported this, including the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund.

Because of the shared ownership with the Getty Museum, following the ‘Journeys with Mai’ programme the portrait will travel to Los Angeles in 2026.