The J. Paul Getty Museum said Tuesday it has acquired a painting by Paul Gauguin that has been publicly displayed only once since 1946.
"Arii Matamoe" ("The Royal End") was created in 1892 during Gauguin's first extended stay in Tahiti. The painting shows the severed head of a Polynesian man resting on a cushion with a mourning nude woman sitting nearby.
Museum officials wouldn't say how much was paid for the painting or who the seller was. Another Gauguin painting entitled "Te Poipoi" ("The Morning") sold at a Sotheby's auction in November for nearly $40 million.
"The acquisition of this painting marks one of the key moments in the history of our collection," said museum director Michael Brand.
The Getty has three other Gauguin paintings in its collections, including "Eve (The Nightmare)," "Head with Horns" and "Portrait of a Tahitian Girl."
Observers said "Arii Matamoe" may have been loosely inspired by the death of King Pomare V, which occurred shortly after Gauguin came to Tahiti in 1891.
Museum officials said the painting has only been shown once to the public since 1946 as part of a Gauguin exhibition in Martigny, Switzerland in 1998.
The museum hopes to have the painting on display by next month.
