Pre-Raphaelite painting by Rebecca Solomon at risk of leaving the UK
The Young Teacher, Rebecca Solomon, 1861. Oil on canvas.
A temporary export bar has been placed on Rebecca Solomon’s portrait of Fanny Eaton. Solomon was a pioneering Jewish painter who campaigned for women artists. In ‘A Young Teacher’ Fanny Eaton, whose mother was a former enslaved woman in Jamaica, poses as an Indian nursemaid. The piece provides a nuanced and sensitive perspective on gender and ethnicity in the 19th century. Eaton became a popular model and muse for the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
The Young Teacher, Rebecca Solomon, 1861. Oil on canvas.
The Minister’s decision to place the bar follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. The committee agreed that the painting was extremely important in the context of diversity and representation of Black and Asian figures in 19th century Britain, as well as noting the lack of professional, female Jewish artists of this period in British public collections. The deferral of the export license application will be until the 1st February 2023.
Read the full press release from Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Arts Council England and The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP here.
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