Mai, the Polynesian courtier who charmed 18th-century London — and presented an irresistible challenge to Sir Joshua Reynolds

On 14 July 1774, a young Polynesian named Mai (circa 1751-circa 1779) arrived in England. Quiet, courteous and quick to learn, at 22 Mai had already had a remarkable life. The son of a minor courtier on the French Polynesian island of Raiatea — the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti — Mai had escaped an incursion by neighbouring Bora Bora by fleeing to Tahiti, where he persuaded the British explorer Captain James Cook to let him travel to England on HMS Adventure.

On arrival in London, Mai requested a meeting with King George III to plead for support (and arms) to overthrow the Bora Borans. ‘He showed remarkable bravery,’ says Ruth Cornett, Senior Director of Christie’s Heritage and Taxation. ‘Here was a young man barely out of his teens, who was prepared to journey across the world, in great danger, to save his land.’

In London, Mai was greeted as a celebrity, thought to personify Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s romantic ideal of man untrammelled by European social conventions. In fact, Mai came from a highly stratified society and was quick to grasp the British class system, which he played to his advantage.

Under the guidance of the botanist Sir Joseph Banks and the Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander, Mai was introduced to the London intelligentsia, among them Dr Samuel Johnson and his biographer, James Boswell. In a letter to his sister, Banks wrote that Mai had ‘so much natural politeness I never saw in any man: wherever he goes he makes friends and has not I believe as yet one foe’.

For the society painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), Mai was a challenge he could not ignore, and he invited the young adventurer to pose for him. The resulting work, Portrait of Mai, is, says Cornett, ‘a tour de force. It is seminal in terms of its subject matter but also in terms of Reynolds’s virtuosity.’

Standing at more than seven feet high — well over two metres — the full-length portrait depicts the young Polynesian as a confident, barefooted hero. Reynolds was known for idealising his subjects, and this portrait is no exception. The turban and drapery are not Polynesian dress, and a preparatory sketch reveals that the artist altered Mai’s features slightly. ‘The portrait is almost sculptural,’ says Cornett. ‘You get the feeling of the body in the round.’

Unusually for a time of British imperial expansion, when encounters with other countries were often embattled and ferocious, Mai is portrayed as a fearless individual and very much in control of his destiny. ‘It is a rare example of a great 18th-century portrait that places a non-white person at the centre of events,’ says Cornett.

Reynolds was so proud of the painting that it remained in his studio until his death, in 1792. It was later bought by Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, and remained in the family until 2001.

Now the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London and the Getty in Los Angeles have joined together to buy the painting at a cost of £50 million. A shared-ownership scheme will enable the public on both sides of the Atlantic to see the work in perpetuity.

The painting will be on show at the NPG from 22 June 2023, when the museum reopens following a major transformation project. Cornett explains that Christie’s supported the acquisition behind the scenes, and is delighted with the outcome. ‘It is the first time a transatlantic joint purchase like this has happened in the UK,’ she says. ‘It is a major coup for the National Portrait Gallery, and could be a blueprint for the way public museums acquire masterpieces in the future.’

John Stainton, Deputy Chairman of Old Masters in London, says, ‘Reynolds’s magnificent portrait of the young Tahitian Mai is among the most important paintings executed in Britain in the 18th century, and we are proud to have been involved in the process that has ensured its future on public exhibition.’

What happened to Mai after his London success is something of a mystery. He returned to the Pacific in 1777 on Cook’s third voyage, and established himself on the island of Huahine with the help of the British. When Captain William Bligh arrived in Tahiti in 1789, he was told that Mai had died of a virus two years or so after his return.

‘He was a unique individual,’ says Cornett. ‘Now his story will be better known.’

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The National Portrait Gallery raised £25 million which, thanks in huge part to a grant of £10m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, an Art Fund grant of £2.5m, together with a matching amount from Getty in the US, made up the £50m needed to acquire the painting. Donations were also received from over 2,000 Art Fund members, National Portrait Gallery supporters and members of the public, giving gifts of all sizes. The shared ownership of the work and strategic partnership between the National Portrait Gallery and Getty will maximise public access to the work in perpetuity and the two institutions will share the painting for public exhibition, research and conservation care.