Sir Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Mai (“Omai”) (detail), about 1776
In 2023 the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Getty Museum jointly acquired an eight-foot-tall standing portrait of a Tahitian man painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds around 1775 for a combined price of $62 million. This fascinating painting is on view at the Getty from September 15 until March 14, 2027. Please join Art Muse lecturer and art historian Catherine Hess for a discussion of this portrait that will reveal who the man was and why he was painted in this special way.
