LONDON – The Tate and the Museum of the Home have announced joint ownership of a landmark painting by acclaimed painter Rebecca Solomon. A Young Teacher (1861) has been acquired for the national collection and will be held equally by both institutions, enabling this significant Pre-Raphaelite work to be enjoyed by the public for generations to come.

A Young Teacher will be displayed in Tate Britain’s new Pre-Raphaelite gallery from the end of June. Hung alongside many works by Solomon’s male counterparts, including her brother Simeon, its inclusion offers visitors the chance to experience a fresh perspective on this ground-breaking art movement. In autumn 2024 it will move to the Museum of the Home, providing a new context in which to see this ambitious painting, after which it will be available to both institutions as well as to museums and galleries across the UK as part of the national collection.

Rebecca Solomon’s painting is a complex reflection on gender, race, religion and education in mid-19th century London. As with many of her works, it considers women who worked in better-off households as professional carers. In A Young Teacher, Solomon modifies a traditional domestic scene between mother and child, with the surrounding books stressing the theme of learning.

The woman at the center of the image was modeled by Jamaican-born Fanny Eaton, who became a prominent muse for many Victorian artists and featured in some of the most iconic paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite period. Several examples of these are currently on display in Tate Britain’s exhibition The Rossettis, which remains open until September 24.

Believed to be the first Jewish woman to become a professional artist in England, Rebecca Solomon’s work shone a light on inequality and prejudice at a time when these subjects were far from mainstream. She was active in social reform movements, including as part of a group of 38 artists who petitioned the Royal Academy of Arts to open its schools to women.