Portrait of Mai (Omai)
Portrait of Omai, Omai of the Friendly Isles
Portrait of Mai (Omai) by Joshua Reynolds.
Portrait of Mai (Omai) by Sir Joshua Reynolds, oil on canvas, c.1776
ArtistSir Joshua Reynolds
Yearc. 1776
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectOmai
Dimensions236 cm × 145.5 cm (93 in × 57.3 in)
LocationNational Portrait Gallery, London and The Getty Museum, Los Angeles
OwnerNational Portrait Gallery and The Getty Museum
Accession25 April 2023

Portrait of Mai (Omai) (also known as Portrait of Omai, Omai of the Friendly Isles or simply Omai) is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Omai, a Polynesian visitor to England, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, completed about 1776.

Background

Sir Joshua Reynolds, Pencil sketch of Mai, Rex Nan Kivell Collection, National Library of Australia

Mai (known in England as Omai)[1] left the Society Islands (specifically, Raiatea) with Commander Tobias Furneaux on his ship HMS Adventure. The Adventure had left England in 1772, accompanying Captain James Cook on his second voyage of discovery in the Pacific, and visited Tahiti and Huahine in 1773. After visiting New Zealand, Omai arrived in England on Furneaux's ship in July 1774.

Mai was admired by London society, staying with the President of the Royal Society Sir Joseph Banks and meeting King George III, Dr Samuel Johnson, Frances Burney, and other English celebrities. He returned to the Pacific with Cook's third voyage in July 1776, arriving back on the island of Huahine in 1777. He stayed behind after Cook left in November 1777, and Mai died there in late 1779.

Painting

Reynolds portrayed Mai as an exotic figure—an idealised depiction echoing Jean-Jacques Rousseau's concept of a noble savage. He stands barefoot, alone in a rural Arcadian landscape with unusual palm-like trees. He is wearing flowing "oriental" white robes resembling a toga but perhaps intended to be tapa cloth, and a white turban or headdress of possibly Turkish or Indian inspiration, a style not known in Tahiti. His adlocutio pose was inspired by the Apollo Belvedere; it emphasises the tattoos on his hands, but also makes classical allusions. (Reynolds first used the pose in 1752, after visiting Rome, in a portrait of Commodore Augustus Keppel.)

The work measures 90 × 57 inches (230 × 140 cm). It was painted in around 1775, and was one of 12 portraits exhibited by Reynolds at the Royal Academy's eighth exhibition in 1776, to great acclaim. It was praised as a good likeness of the subject. The other paintings exhibited by Reynolds in 1776 included a full-length portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire in a similarly idyllic setting.

A pencil preparatory sketch is held by the National Library of Australia as part of the Rex Nan Kivell Collection, and Yale University Art Gallery has an oval oil sketch. The painting was reproduced as a mezzotint by Johann Jacobé, published by John Boydell in 1780.

History

Castle Howard, the portrait's home for 200 years.

Reynolds was not commissioned to paint Mai's portrait, and the work remained in his studio until his death in 1792. It was auctioned by Greenwood's in April 1796, and acquired by the art dealer Michael Bryan for 100 guineas. Bryan sold it to art collector Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, and it was displayed in the Reynolds Room at Castle Howard for 200 years. It was not seen again at a public exhibition until it appeared at the Royal Academy in 1954.

Sale by the Howards

The painting was included in the estate of George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe when he died in November 1984. It was put on sale by his son, Simon Howard, to meet the costs of a divorce and to help with the running costs of the Castle Howard estate. Howard offered to sell the work to the Tate Gallery, but its suggested price of £5.5 million was rejected. Auctioned at Sotheby's in September 2001, the painting was bought by London art dealer Guy Morrison. The Antiques Trade Gazette suggested that Morrison had been subject to "auction fever", i.e. getting carried away and bidding more than his private client had authorised him to.[2] The total sale price of £10.3 million (after fees and commission) was a record for a work by Reynolds and, at the time, the second highest amount paid for a painting by a British artist: the then record being set in 1990 of £10.7 million for John Constable's The Lock, this has since been substantially surpassed, including by further sale of The Lock in 2012 (£22.4 million).

Magnier acquisition

The painting was eventually acquired by Irish businessman John Magnier. In 2002, he applied to export the work but was refused an export licence by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art while the Tate Gallery sought funding to acquire the work for its stated value of £12.5 million. The Gallery launched a campaign, supported by David Attenborough, to acquire the work. An anonymous donor offered to purchase it from Magnier and loan it to the gallery, but Magnier refused to sell.[3] In the meantime he also refused to allow the painting to be displayed in public in the UK.[4]

The painting remained in storage at Christie's until 2005 when it was included in a Reynolds exhibition at Tate Britain in 2005.[5][6][7][8] The British government continued to refuse a permanent export licence, but a temporary export licence was granted in 2005 for 6½ years, and the painting went on display at the National Gallery of Ireland. In 2011, this license was extended, but a further application for a second temporary export licence was refused in 2012, and the painting returned to the UK.[9][10][11][12] It was briefly exhibited at a Reynolds exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 2018.[4]

In 2014, the painting was the subject of a ruling by the Court of Appeal in a case bought by the custodians of Castle Howard against HM Revenue and Customs as its taxable status.[13] The Court found in favour of the custodians, and against HMRC, upholding an earlier decision of the Upper Tribunal, and overturning the first instance decision of the First-tier Tribunal. The Court held that as the portrait had been displayed in a part of Castle Howard that was open to the public, it fell within the definition of "plant". As a result, it could be considered a "wasting asset" and so any proceeds of sale were exempt from capital gains tax.[14][15] This tax loophole was closed by changes to taxation outlined in the 2015 Budget.[16] An application to the Supreme Court for permission appeal was rejected in January 2015.[17]

In 2022 the portrait, now valued at £50 million, was at risk of leaving the UK once again and was again placed under a 12 month export bar.[18][19] The rationale for the new valuation was unclear, being nearly five times the previous valuation of £10.7 million, and being untested at auction since.[20] However, as the broadcaster and art dealer Philip Mould noted, such a valuation could be justified against a declining market in eighteenth century art thanks to the unusual diversity of the painting's subject; saying "it is hard to put a price on such a rare full-length portrait of a man of colour." Mould's brother, also an expert in British Old Masters, had been responsible for the new £50 million valuation.[4]

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) organised a funding campaign to purchase the painting, receiving backing from the Art Fund (£2.5 million – the largest single contribution the Fund had made in its 120 year existence), National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) (£10 million), and over 1400 private donors. In an effort to secure more funding, the Gallery began discussions with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for the possibility of a joint acquisition, with the painting being shared between the institutions. However, such an agreement could complicate promises of funding from the NHMF, who had allocated money on the basis of a sole UK purchase.[4]

An open letter from leading academics in the field was published in the Financial Times in June 2022 in support of the retention of the portrait in the UK.[21] This was followed by a similarly supportive column in The Guardian by the author and historian, and NPG trustee, Simon Sebag Montefiore in March 2023.[22]

In March 2023, the export bar expired, with only about half the necessary funding secured, and negotiations with the Getty ongoing. It was then extended by three months, to June 2023, to allow negotiations between the NPG and the Getty to continue. The director of the NPG had approached the UK Government for a direct Treasury grant without success, however, the new chair of the NHMF signalled their support for continued efforts to maintain public access to the painting, even if it required a novel resolution.[23]

On 31 March 2023, the NPG and the Getty announced a plan to "to jointly acquire and share ownership” of the portrait, in “a new model of international collaboration”. UK Arts Minister Stephen Parkinson, Baron Parkinson of Whitley Bay, said that the two museums are "closing in on finalising a deal" with the NPG still needing to raise under £1 million and the final technical intricacies of the deal to be ironed out.[24]

On 25 April 2023, the two galleries confirmed their successful acquisition of the portrait which was renamed Portrait of Mai (Omai), to reflect the true name of the subject.[25]

Possession of the portrait is expected to alternate between the NPG in London and the Getty in Los Angeles; the NPG intends to make it the centrepiece of its post-refurbishment reopening in June 2023. The portrait will be displayed at the Getty for the first time in 2026 with the portrait exhibited in Los Angeles while the city hosts the 2028 Olympic Games.[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ministers urged to keep culturally important painting by Joshua Reynolds in Britain". Financial Times. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "The strange case of the dealer who went over the top". www.antiquestradegazette.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  3. ↑ "Anonymous donor steps in to help acquire Omai". Tate. 26 March 2003. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gapper, John (23 February 2023). "Joshua Reynolds' 'Portrait of Omai' is a national treasure. Why is Britain struggling to keep it?". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity | Tate Britain". Tate. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Joshua Reynolds:The creattion of celebrity: Room guide: Room 8". Tate. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Jones, Jonathan (20 May 2005). "How the mighty fall". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Wullschlager, Jackie (25 May 2005). "Icons for our own fantasies". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Burns, John (3 December 2011). "National Gallery hangs on to Magnier's art, for now". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Refusal of further temporary export licence for Joshua Reynolds' Omai". GOV.UK. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Webb, Nick (8 July 2012). "Magnier's €18m art may be forced back to the UK". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Brown, Mark (2 July 2012). "Joshua Reynolds' Omai to remain in UK after Ed Vaizey's intervention". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Singh, Anita (30 November 2012). "Portrait of Omai at centre of High Court tax dispute". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "HM Revenue and Customs v The Executors of Lord Howard of Henderskelfe [2014] EWCA Civ 278". 19 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ↑ "Court of Appeal rules £9m Omai painting is 'plant'". Accountancy Daily. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  16. ↑ Houlder, Vanessa (18 March 2015). "Budget 2015: Old masters no longer count as wasting assets". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Lord Howard executors gain final victory in CGT dispute over Reynolds masterpiece | STEP". www.step.org. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Reynolds' Portrait of Omai at risk of leaving UK". GOV.UK. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  19. ↑ Artdaily. "Reynolds' Portrait of Omai at risk of leaving UK". artdaily.cc. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  20. ↑ Fernández, G. "UK fights against the export of its art treasures". Art Wolf. Art Wolf. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  21. ↑ "Letter: 'Portrait of Omai' is unique and must remain in Britain". Financial Times. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  22. ↑ Montefiore, Simon Sebag (7 March 2023). "We can't let Joshua Reynolds' magnificent Portrait of Omai leave the UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  23. ↑ Bailey, Martin (20 March 2023). "Arts minister extends export ban (again) to help save Joshua Reynolds's Portrait of Omai". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Statement from National Portrait Gallery and Getty on Plans to Share Reynolds' Portrait of Mai | Getty News". www.getty.edu. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  25. ↑ Brown, Mark (25 April 2023). "Joshua Reynolds' Portrait of Omai acquired by National Portrait Gallery". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  26. ↑ Bailey, Martin (31 March 2023). "Joshua Reynolds's 'Portrait of Mai'—previously known as Omai—to be jointly acquired by the National Portrait Gallery and Getty Museum". The Art Newspaper – International art news and events. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
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