A valuable Pre-Raphaelite painting by a pioneering 19th-century Jewish woman artist is at risk of leaving the UK unless a buyer can be found to save the work for the nation.

A temporary export ban has been placed on the painting, A Young Teacher by Rebecca Solomon, which is estimated to be worth £315,000. It depicts Fanny Eaton, whose mother was a former enslaved woman in Jamaica, posing as an Indian nursemaid. The piece provides a nuanced and sensitive perspective on gender and ethnicity in the 19th century.

Rebecca Solomon came from a prominent Jewish family and was active in the social reform movements of her time. She was one of a group of 38 female artists who petitioned the Royal Academy of Arts to open its schools to women.

Two of her brothers, Simeon and Abraham, were also well-known artists.

The export ban was imposed at the request of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest because of the painting’s historic importance. It allows time for a UK institution or gallery to buy it if they can raise the funds by 1 February 2023 when the bar expires.

Stuart Andrew, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Rebecca Solomon’s work shone a light on inequality and prejudice at a time when these subjects were far from mainstream.

"I hope a UK buyer comes forward so we can continue to learn more about attitudes at
the time.”

The Reviewing Committee said the painting was extremely important in the context of diversity and representation of the era and of 19th-century Jewish art, noting the lack of works by female Jewish artists of this period in British public collections.