The National Portrait Gallery in London and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles have jointly acquired Joshua Reynolds's 1776 painting *Portrait of Omai* for an estimated £50 million ($62 million). This marks the first time museums in the UK and US have partnered on a single acquisition, with each institution paying half and sharing ownership of the artwork, which will be displayed alternately in both countries. The painting depicts Mai (Omai), a young Tahitian man who visited Britain in 1774 with explorer James Cook, and had never before been held in a museum collection.
This acquisition matters because it represents an innovative model of international museum collaboration, maximizing public access across continents while preserving a historically significant artwork in both British and American collections. The portrait, valued at £50 million, had been under a temporary UK export ban after its owner, collector John Magnier, sought to move it abroad. The National Portrait Gallery had struggled to raise the full amount independently, despite major grants from the Art Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund, making the Getty partnership a crucial solution that keeps the painting accessible to UK audiences while also allowing it to be seen in the US.