Joshua Reynolds’ monumental portrait of Mai has gone on display at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The exhibition opened on September 15, 2026, and continues through March 2027. Acquired jointly by the Getty and the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 for $61 million, the nearly eight-foot-tall painting depicts the first Pacific Islander to visit Britain with a grandeur generally associated with the European elite.
Mai reached England in 1774, in his early twenties, after joining Captain James Cook’s second expedition. Although he was a commoner in the Society Islands, the wealthy naturalist Joseph Banks promoted him as a nobleman, introducing him to influential figures at social gatherings and presenting him to King George III and Queen Charlotte. Reynolds’ 1776 portrait reinforced this elevated image: modeled on ancient Roman senators and military commanders, Mai embodied the painter’s belief in universal human nobility. His reception nevertheless exposed conflicting British attitudes toward Pacific peoples, ranging from fascination to dismissive criticism.
Behind this carefully constructed public identity lay Mai’s own political purpose. Born on Raiatea, he had fled after invaders from neighboring Bora Bora conquered his homeland and killed his father. He hoped to acquire British weapons to reclaim it. Although he received firearms, Cook refused to return him to Raiatea because he feared violence, leaving him on Huahine in 1777 instead. Mai later used his weapons successfully against Bora Borans. His image also survived in British culture, including a lavish 1785 stage production that portrayed him as a visiting prince.
