Mai (Omai)

Image credit: © National Portrait Gallery, London. Purchased jointly by the Board of Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery and the J. Paul Getty Trust, 2023, with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund and other generous supporters.

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Reynolds painted this majestic portrait without commission to capitalise on Mai’s celebrity and it dominated the 1776 Royal Academy exhibition. Exceptional in many ways, it was the first British portrait to represent a person of colour with grandeur, dignity and authority. The painting was not sold during Reynolds’ lifetime, instead he kept it on display in his studio in Leicester Square as the premier example of his skill and creativity. Mixing aspects of classical sculpture and costume with individual details, like Polynesian tapa cloth and Mai’s tattoos, this portrait conveys the moment when two worlds encountered each other for the first time.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

Mai (Omai)

Date

c.1776

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 236 x W 145.5 cm

Accession number

NPG 7153

Acquisition method

purchased jointly with the J. Paul Getty Trust, with significant support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, major contributions from the Portrait Fund, Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation and Julia and Hans Rausing, and support from Idan and Batia Ofer Family Foundation, Bjorn Saven, David and Emma Verey Charitable Trust and Wolfson Foundation, alongside contributions following an appeal by the National Portrait Gallery and Art Fund, 2023

Work type

Painting

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National Portrait Gallery, London

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