Joshua Reynolds’s famed Portrait of Mai (around 1776)—which was jointly acquired by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 2023—is embarking on a UK tour, taking in Bradford, Cambridge and Plymouth.
The Reynolds work, which depicts a Tahitian man known as Mai (around 1753-80) who arrived in Britain with Captain Cook in 1774, was previously entitled Omai, but was renamed in 2023 to more accurately reflect the sitter’s name. It has been on display in the NPG since the gallery's reopening in June 2023, but will leave on 7 April after a Young People’s Summit event which explores themes such as travel, colonialism, encounter, and representation.
The portrait then heads to Bradford, 2025’s UK City of Culture. Here it will go on display in Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, part of Bradford District Museums and Galleries, from 22 May to 17 August. Mai will then travel to The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where it will feature in an exhibition jointly produced with the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (17 October-1 February 2026).
Finally, the portrait will tour to The Box in Plymouth (14 February-14 June 2026), where it will be displayed alongside a programme exploring Captain Cook’s voyages and the colonial history of the South Pacific.
At each venue, the painting will be the basis of engagement programmes involving contemporary artists, young people and communities. The touring initiative and partnership project, known as Journeys with Mai, is backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Art Fund and other undisclosed supporters. After this project the portrait will travel to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 2026.
The painting was acquired as part of “a new model of international collaboration”. The initial acquisition statement states it is also due to be displayed at the Getty during the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, suggesting that the Reynolds masterpiece will travel every five years.
