Tate to get Reynolds' Omai after all

An anonymous benefactor is giving the Tate £12.5m so the gallery can buy the picture and keep it in the UK. The portrait of Omai had been offered for sale in 2001, but the Tate's offer was rejected at the time. It eventually sold for £10.3m, the second-highest price for a British painting. . .

The government placed a temporary bar on Sir Joshua's painting leaving the UK in December because of its historical importance. The painting, which was first shown at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1776, has been kept in the stores of the auction house Christie's in Vauxhall, south London.

Omai was discovered by explorers on an island near Tahiti and brought back to England where his exotic looks led him to be feted as a noble savage by London society.

Posted by David on March 26, 2003 10:46 AM